#sure i'll help them out but internally i'm like ??? dude the two of you got into cool degrees that college me would have LOVED to be in | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

scarletwinterxx · 11 months

Text

take a chance with me - mark lee imagine

hi🥺😊 it's been a while since i wrote something this long, I wanted to take my time and do my best. I hope you like it.🤍

if you have a request or scenario you want me to do, just send me a message I'll see what I can do😊💌

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

and if you want, u can buy me coffee(totally optional but any donation is very much appreciated!) thank you🥺💛

song inspo: take a chance with me by niki

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2023 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to rightful owner)

"You got the Bruno Mars tickets?"

Mark looks up to see you looking a bit disheveled, still panting from running he assumes.

She still looks cute. Says his internal monologue but he quickly shuts that down, putting this tough shell back on in front of you instead.

"Yeah why?" he asks nonchalantly

You hold 1 finger up, signalling for him to wait while you catch your breath.

"Who are you going with?"

"Dery, supposedly but he got tickets too so now I'm not sure" he answers, his attention back on his laptop screen. There are so many things he should be doing right now to the point that he feels like the 24 hours of his day isn't enough and yet he can't seem to shoo you away.

He'll spare you a minute, an hour, or how long you ask him but you don't know that. And he won't say that out loud now that the two of you have broken up. His clock stops when he's with you.

Mark wants to scold himself for always giving into you, but he can't help it. It's you.

"Take me" you say straightforward, no sense of hesitation.

This made Mark look up at you again, raising a brow as he asks you "Now why would I do that?"

"Because we're friends?" throwing a question back at him

"God don't say that, it's weird" he mumbles, acting as if he was shaking of chills as you say the word friends

"You're the one who said we should be friends, this is me being a friend"

"This is you trying to piggyback on me to watch Bruno Mars"

"See, you still know me so well. Now why did we even break up?" you joke, but it wasn't well received on the other end so you cleared your throat "Right sorry, sore topic" you mumble

"I'll think about it" Mark tells you before his gaze returns on his screen

You smile down at him even though he's not looking at you. "In your book, that's a yes. Call me, bye" you tell him before walking away.

After that encounter with you, Mark of course couldn't keep his mouth shut and told his friend about it. He can already hear Hendery scolding him for being a 'simp'.

"Tell me you didn't say yes that fast" Hendery asks his bestfriend but he already knows the answer

"Mark, dude I thought we're working on the whole 'I'm moving on for real this time' era of yours"

"I am, I am over it. She's just going with me because I have extra tickets, which by the way was supposed to be yours. I paid a good amount for those" he scowls at the other boy

"And you didn't even think twice about giving it away to her, we could've sold that or something. Just say you're still whipped and go. What's the point of me lecturing you everytime about your failed love live if you're never gonna listen"

"I can't fail my love life if I don't have a love life" the Leo man justifies

"Okay you got a point there, so here's my proposal. We should find you a new girl so you can finally finally stop being such a simp"

Mark swears he trusts Hendery with his life, but also a big part of him doubts his Libra bestfriend even when he's staying still and doing nothing.

"I'm not a simp" Mark grumbles like a child. He can hear Hendery snicker from beside him,

"Sorry what was that? I can't hear bullshit. Get back to me when you finally mean it"

He really hoped Hendery was kidding when he said he'll find him someone, he had so many reason why this isn't a good time to date but he can't stop him once he sets his mind on something. Especially if it meant it'll give Mark a headache, which in that case is Hendery's forte.

But if there's someone topping that list, the number one person to make Mark's temporal pulse go thumping hard. It would be you. And you know exactly know to get on his last nerve whether he likes it or not.

"I can't believe you got floor tickets, and Dery passed this up?" you say from beside him as you look around the venue. It's the day of the concert and just like you said, you showed up in front of his doorstep 10 hours earlier with the most excited look on your face.

"He's somewhere over there, said he prefers it so yea" he answers, looking at his watch to check the time. His nonchalance making you look over at your ex-boyfriend slash friend.

"Why are you grumpy? Does it really bother you I'm here? I can pay for the tickets" you tell him.

Mark looks over at you, noting your serious expression. He didn't want to ruin tonight for you, for the both of you so he shakes his head.

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I invited you"

"I invited myself, I'll send you the payment after the show" you tell him then look away.

Great, now you're in a bad mood and he has to figure out how to fix it. He lets out a sigh, looking away from you. The ticket is not really the issue tonight, neither you being here tonight. It's his mind being at war again, asking him questions he have long buried in the depths of his consciousness.

It's like you press the reset button in him every time. He hates it but he can't walk away from you either. So as a result, he sometimes acts too harsh towards you.

Mark thinks of something to break the tension,

"Hey, remember when I said I wanted to watch Bruno Mars with you" Mark tells you, slightly leaning towards you to whisper by your ear

You do remember. Back when you were still dating he did say he wanted to go attend concerts with you, when he learned yours and his favorite artist was the same he got so excited and put it on his bucket list to watch Bruno Mars with you.

"Huh?" you mumbled, pretending like you were having a hard time recalling that memory but really it's still fresh like it happened just yesterday

"My bucket list, said I wanted to watch Bruno with you. Guess I can check it off from that now" he smiles

"Does it still count even when we're not dating anymore?" you can't help but ask, you expected him to react violently like he always does when you bring it up but instead he just smiles at you again

"It counts as long as it's with you" he answers then he looks away. Not catching the way your gaze stayed on him for a few more moments, in those moments you wondered what if that wasn't the case.

What if you never broke up. What if he was still yours.

A lot of what ifs you'll never know the answer to.

Instead of linger on that, you just look away from him. Ignoring the dull ache in your heart.

That night turned out for the better, probably a night you'll never forget. You had so much fun, singing and jumping along your favorite songs. There were times when you looked beside you to see Mark doing the same. Seeing the biggest smile on his face as he holds his phone up to capture the moment.

Instead of saying anything, you just watch him with a smile. Missing seeing him this happy and carefree.

After the show, Mark offered to drive you home. You were too tired to say no so you just sat on his passenger seat as he drives down the familiar street. He didn't need to check his GPS to know, he know these roads like it's the way to his own home.

In a way it used to be like that, you used to be his home.

He didn't say much when he dropped you off, watching you enter your building and only driving away when he's sure you safe inside.

"Mark, my friend"

"No" Mark cuts off Hendery before he could even say anything but of course his bestfriend didn't take any offence nor thought about listening to him, he continued when Mark didn't say anything else

"As I was saying, remember when I said I'll find you someone. Well I kinda did, a bunch of us is going hiking this weekend and this girl Arin is coming. Heard she's had a thing for you for a while now"

"How can she have a thing for me when she doesn't know me?" he mumbles, already getting grumpy with the idea of going out

"I can't explain the way of the universe to you my friend, she just does. Don't make me say you're one handsome man because I won't" Hendery says

"You just did though"

"So you're coming right?" Hendery asks with a devilosh smile like he's already plotting something

"Do I have a choice?"

"Hey don't look at me like that, it was your choice coming here" Haechan tells you as you let him drag you trough the woods at 5am in the morning

"You told me we were going to get coffee at this place with killer view. I'm about to be the killer here and you're in my view" you tell him, sending glares his way but this doesn't deter your friend.

"We are getting coffee, after we go hiking. Hey! No hitting!"

As the two of you bicker some more you don't notice the other people joining you for today's hike arrive.

From across the lot, Mark spots you and Haechan. Just as he looks over, he sees Haechan bend down to whisper something to you and you hitting him lightly making the guy laugh.

It’s been a while since he last saw you, after the concert you really didn't reach out that much. Not that he expected you to, the last text you sent him was a short thank you for taking you to the concert.

You weren't avoiding him, it's been a while since you went out with a big group of friends since you and Mark did share a lot of mutual friends. You didn't want to make it awkward for everyone, so instead you mostly declined the invites when you know he might come too.

And Mark, well he’s been keeping his distance from you too. It's always you who talks to him first, always letting you make the first step.

He knew you were close to Haechan. If he’s being honest there were enough times he felt jealous even. He pushes that thought away as fast as it came. He didn't know you were coming this weekend, a detail Hendery failed to mention.

"Hey don't freak out, but your ex is here" Haechan tells you

Whipping your head around then back at him, waiting for him to say it was a joke

"No he isn't"

"Yep, he's over there. Wait don't look"

Too late you're already looking. And there he was indeed. Luckily Mark was too busy unloading stuff from the car to notice you looking over at him

“If only your gaze could make him notice you, he’d probably be here already having an actual conversation with you” Haechan whispers to you

“You know not every thought that pops into your head should be said outloud, you can just shut it” you answer, taking your gaze off from the guy from across the lot.

“It wouldn’t be too bad to admit you miss him, when it’s this obvious”

“Again, thoughts to your self. I don’t need you whispering in my ear like a little devil” this time it earned him a hit on the shoulder. From across the lot, Mark’s eyes glaze towards the direction where you were standing with your friend.

“He’s looking over here, by the way” Haechan tells you when his eyes met with Mark’s, the other guy quickly averting his gaze somewhere else.

“Shut up”

"He was, and I'm pretty sure he had the look of murder on his face when he saw me leaning a little to close to you"

"I have the look of murder whenever I look at you, now can I get a drink in peace without you breathing down my neck" you grumbled, rethinking all the choices you made which led you here. You should've been anywhere but here.

Anywhere except where Mark is. You thought.

"He's coming, act cool. Hey guys!"

You glare at Haechan one last time before looking to see Hendery, Mark, Yoo Jimin, Arin and Yeonjun.

"You guys got here early?" Hendery asks

"No, we just got here too. Ready to go?"

Everyone said yes then you were off.

You try to focus on not tripping and not think about Mark, which you kind of succeeded. The group made small talk among each other, of course with Haechan and Hendery there aren't any dead air.

When you got to the trickier part of the hike, the trail was steep and kinda hard to climb up. Some of the boys offered to go up first to assist while the others stay behind to make sure no one get's left behind.

Hendery and Haechan took the lead while Mark and Yeonjun stayed behind. You were standing behind Jimin and infront of Yeonjun, taking careful steps.

"Haechan Lee, when we get to the top I'm going to push you off" you tell your friend who was laughing from somewhere infront

"I thought this was easy, not gonna lie I'm gonna pass out soon" Jimin says

"Same" you mumble, resting your hand on your knee to catch your breath

"Hey you okay? Need help with your bag?" Yeonjun asks you, Mark who is standing at the very back listens to the conversation.

"No, it's okay" you politely decline

"You sure?" nodding at him, "Jimin, do you need help with yours?" Yeonjun asks the girl to which she answers with a loud yes and quickly passing her bag to him.

You let Yeonjun walk infront of you, leaving you and Mark at the very back of the line. Mark takes a water bottle from his bag, opens it before passing it over to you. You didn't even think twice about grabbing it, not really paying attention to who's beside you. Kind of forgetting if for a moment before you stood straight again to meet Mark's eyes looking at you.

"Uh thanks" you say holding up the bottle of water

"No problem, need help with your bag?" he asks, he did hear you already say no to Yeonjun but he can't help bu ask

"It's fine, you're already carrying yours" you tell him, shooting him a quick smile before resuming your walk. But before you can take another step, you felt him grab your wrist to pull you back.

"Wha-" then he was pulling one strap of your backpack then the other before putting it on him. Now he's carrying his backpack and yours.

"Mark, come on I can carry that" you try to get it back but he blocks your hands with his arm. Gently pushing you infront of him.

"I'll give it back when you don't look like you're about to pass out, now go. We're falling behind" he tells you, and when he gets this serious you have no choice but to follow him.

For the rest of the hike, you and Mark walk in silence. Passing the water bottle back to him every once and a while, not even noticing you're practically sharing it with him. And when there was a branch too big on your way, you felt his hands on your waist. Guiding you from behind.

"Careful" he mumbles

Too stunned to say anything, you make your way over. Haechan was there waiting for you. He helps you up with this sly smirk on his face, you send a glare to him. Already reading his mind and what's he's about to ask you later.

"And we're here! Look at that view" Hendery announces.

For a moment, all seven of you just admire the view.

"Okay, tell me I did good" Haechan bumps your shoulder, you roll your eyes

"Fine, this was worth all of that" you mumble while the guy beside you throw his fist in the air like he just won a very important arguement.

All of you find spots to sit and get comfortable while eating the snacks you brought and drink the coffee brought by Arin apparently.

"I'm working at the cafe near campus so I kinda picked up a few tricks here and there, taste it. Hope it tastes okay" she tells the group.

Passing the thermos around, you take a cup and wait for your turn. Haechan pours some on your cup for you, and even got you your favorite pastry which honestly might be the highlight of your week.

Meanwhile, Mark was not so subtly watching from the side as you smile at the other guy. Even saw you bump your head on Haechan's shoulder affectionately, probably since you can't give him high five with your hands fill. It's something he knows you do when you get all happy and excited. The coffee tasted okay but something else left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"We should go here again, it's nice to just be out of the city" Yeonjun says

"True, I was dying back there but I'd do it again for this" Jimin says with a smile, all of you looking out the view. Watching as the sun slowly ascend up the sky.

The seven of you spent a few more hours there, just talking and sharing stories then it was time to go. The hike back was much easier and faster since you kinda know where to go.

Saying goodbye to the group when you got back to the parking lot. You help Haechan put your bags in the trunk.

"Hey uhm I was wondering if you want to grab coffee sometime" you're not sure who was speaking so you look behind you only to see Arin standing beside Mark.

For a moment, Mark meets your eyes but you quickly looked away and made your way inside Haechan's car. You'd rather not hear the rest of that conversation, saving your self from the misery.

Haechan looks over at you with confusion, then behind him to see what you saw. And when he saw Mark looking where you were, he understood. He closed the trunk making Arin and Mark look at him, "We'll go now, see you around guys" he shoots them a smile and a wave before jogging over the driver's side.

"You good?" he asks you when he got in the car

"I think so"

"I'm not gonna make fun of you if you say no" he tells you which kind of did make you laugh.

"Just tired, and you still owe me coffee"

"Fine, I'll get you some. Only because you're sulking right now"

You wanted to say he was wrong and that you weren't sulking but that would be not true.

Not sure either why you suddenly feel so down. You and Mark have broken up for over a year and in no place to feel jealous if he decides to date again. And at the end of the day it was yo who broke up him.

Deciding to treat yourself, you walked around the neighborhood to buy some snacks and your favorite ice cream.

Mark just drove Arin home after going out to grab dinner together, they had a good talk. He's not as naïve as Hendery thinks, he can definitely see why he said Arin might like him. But Mark of course being the gentleman that he is, let her down in the most gentle way he could.

"It's just, I'm not really looking for a relationship right now" he tells her

"I understand that, I can wait" she smiles at him, a look of determination on her face. "I've been meaning to say hi to you and introduce myself to you for a while now. And now that I have met you, I really can't promise I that I can stop liking you"

He chuckles at that, "Thanks, I guess. It's for you to decide, all I'm saying is that I might not reciprocate your feelings for me. Sorry"

"What are you sorry for? We still have time, you can atleast give that to me right" Arin asks

In his mind he already said no. He just smiles though.

After he got home, he still couldn't sleep because for some reason he can't keep you off his mind.

Thinking what if it was you in his place, did you ever have someone ask you out. Is there someone else now. Was it Haechan? Yeonjun?

Too lost in his thoughts, he spots a convenient store nearby and decided to buy an ice cream. Just when he step out of the store, he spots someone sitting outside by the benches.

He'd recognize that jacket anywhere because he was the one who bought it. You've always had a love for all things cozy and fluffy. The teddy bear like jacket was a gift from him last Christmas, he can still remember the smile you had on when he gave it to you.

"What are you doing out here?" he asks you, catching you by surprise. He then takes the seat across from you

"Had a bad day, thought the ice cream would make me feel better. You, why are you here?" you ask back, not expecting to meet him here of all places

"Had a lot to think about, thought the ice cream would help" he answers, "Want to talk about it?" Mark asks before he could even think about it. Normally he would stop himself from prying into your business, respecting the boundaries the two of you have now.

Shaking your head in reply, he understood you won't say anything after that

"I can't tell you because it won't be fair" you mumbled

"Why won't it be fair?"

"Because you're my ex" you tell him, it flew right out of your mouth before you stop and think about it. Looking up at Mark to see him looking at you already,

"Don't worry about it, don't worry about me I'll be fine" you mumble with a small smile. Trying to make it better somehow.

"Why do you do that?" he asks

"What?"

"Run. You always run away from me when I get even a step too close. Even when we were together, you always to that. You always had this wall around you that even I couldn't go around, did you not trust me?" for such an intense gaze, he asked that question so calmly. Like his eyes were saying one thing and his lips were saying another.

"I don't trust myself. Every time something good happens to me, I always ruin it. Every time I think I'm the happiest, I get this overwhelming fear that something will take it away from me. I'm messed up, I know that and you're the last person I want to dump all that mess on" you answer.

For the first time since the break up you finally talk about it. Flashbacks of that night replaying in your head. Remembering how he asked you why multiple times and not being able to give him the answer

"Do you think it could've worked if only I held on to you tighter or would you have hated if I did?" he asks

"Probably, but we won't know. I'd rather keep our memories in a good way than regret it"

"Do you hate me?

He waits.

One second.

Two seconds.

His clock stops once again because of you.

Then he hears you speak,

"Never"

You smile at him warmly, just like you used to. "I know it's hard to understand and accept what I did. I didn't want to drag you down with me, I have bad days and even worse days. Back then it felt like you were the only good thing in my life, I was scared that one day I wasn't going to have that"

"So you walked away before anything bad happens?" he continues for you, "I get that, when things get to much the first thing you can think of is to run. It's natural to have a fight or flight response"

"Don't get to academic with me" you mumble, making the guy across from you chuckle before turning serious again

"No really, boyfriend or not you can still talk to me. If it gets too much, you don't have to run all the time. I'll stay right here, I won't go anywhere so when you need someone you can come to me. Run to me, instead than run away from me"

Mark has always had a way with words, this time instead of running away again you listen to him. Sharing a smile.

"I'll walk you home"

"What time is your last class?" Mark asks you over the phone, after that talk you had the two of you have been hanging out more. Taking his promise of being your friend seriously. Now, there isn't a day when you don't talk to each other.

"My last class is over, I'm here at the library. Why?"

"Do you have an umbrella?"

"Why would I need-" just then a loud thunder resonates outside, feeling the rumble of it from inside the library. You then remember the umbrella you left in your room this morning thinking you weren't going to need it.

"I'm outside" he says then hangs up. Quickly you fix your things and made your way outside the library and sure enough Mark's there waiting for you.

It's only a matter of time before the butterflies in your stomach takes over, and this warm feeling in your chest burst out but for now you choose to ignore it. Choosing not to risk this second chance with him.

"What are you doing here?" you ask him even though you've been waiting to see him the whole day.

"What do you think, I'm walking you home" he tells you like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"You have one umbrella, we're not gonna fit there"

"We'll make due, now come on. I'll make us rament later" he says as he pulls your bag from your grasp and sling it on his shoulder. He then takes his hand that wasn't holding the umbrella to hold yours, tugging you right beside him as the two of you make your way outside.

The two of you underestimated the rain and the size of his umbrella because by the time you arrive at your apartment, only the top of your heads weren't wet by the rain.

Quickly opening the door to get inside, you kick your shoes off and turn the lights on

"I think I have some clothes for you, wait here I'll get you towels" you tell him

But before you could walk away from him, you feel his grasp on your wrist holding you back.

"Do you need something?" you ask him

"I- I just feel like if I don't take this chance right now then I would end up regretting it again, just like when I let you go the first time"

"Mark"

"No, you were right, I won't blame you for our past. I can't be angry at you for choosing yourself. We both needed that to grow and learn and discover ourselves. This right now feels like our second chance, I'm not about to risk it and hope for another one to come by. For once, I'm going to take this chance with you. That is if you'll have me"

Maybe he doesn't know just how much he drives you crazy, just how much you'd risk to have another chance with him. It dawned on you just now how it didn't matter what's at stake if you try again with him because what matters the most is him.

Then suddenly you leap right in his arms, not expecting this Mark stumbles a few steps back. But he catches you, holding you close to him like he was afraid you might float away from him.

"I'd take that as a yes"

You lean back enough to meet his eyes, "See, you still know me best. Why don't we get back together" you tease him.

"I asked first" he pouts at you.

Your adorable Mark pouts at you. How can you ever say no to him if he's this cute and adorable. He knows exactly how to use it against you.

"What if it gets too much, if I get too much?" you ask

"You're never too much to me, nothing I can't handle. I love you, all of you. I'll stay here and tell you everyday until you get tired of me"

You giggle at his words, burying your head on his shoulder. You feel him kiss the top of your head before putting you down on your feet.

It's always scary taking chances, but to you and Mark it's scarier to let it pass again. This time you know you don't need to bet anything because you're sure he's there to stay with you.

125 notes · View notes

theinsanecrayonbox · 1 month

Text

Sabretooth War part 8 time

and again, doing it from tower so we can have panels, so that also means a cut to save dash space

bwahahaha idk but that over the top warning box just had me burst out laughing. i sure hope some karen complained that this storyline was too over the top pointlessly graphic (ok i din't really, because again i do enjoy bloody fights, but this is all just edgelordy nonsense for the sake of being unpleasant)

anywhos, onto our story in progress proper

i already mentioned the preview pages, and commented that i liked the parallels in the storytelling, and the Holly Bright/Bonnie Hale things. but the fact that Victor's admitting that he's a victim...has that ever happened before?

aw crap, Savage is dead-dead. i was hoping maybe she wasn't, like how Capt wasn't for an issue, since she wasn't decapitated. but nope, we can't have fun here.

Laura tauntsGraydona nd jumps out a window. he says screw it all.

Logan's getting patched up by Oya and monologing internally about how it;s so great to have no powers and could die at any moment...didn't we do this song and dance years ago before you died dude? also, you're not gonna be able to move very easily with that super heavy metal skeleton that your body won't compensate for properly without your healing factor. you know the adamantium poisoning is gonna get you. we've done this before; stop being so blasé about it.

Nekra thinks Logan's plans are dumb. Mr OC tries a psychic tap and freaks out because Graydon is so much worse than Victor? uh...wut. wiener boi, even in new shiny tinfoil mode, is not as large scale of a threat as you're making him seem. i'm sorry, but no. you cannot excuse taking the spotlight off of a main character because the wieners secondary (tertiary even) character is now the big bad and final threat. i'm just...uhg. Graydon is a wiener, and he has his purposes, but this isn't one of them. "extra dimensional tech will make this easy' yeah, uhhu, sure. you know what would've made this make sense; us seeing HOW we got this cool maybe. because you give the wiener a shiny gun doesn't mean we will immediately think he's cool and capable; it just makes him look like a wiener with a gun and make we should duck because he's probably doing to accidentally shoot himself with it.

and how do you know about that! you weren't part of the Pit Gang conversations. bad writing!!

so Logan takes the Pit Gang (trio really at this point) to his apocalypse bunker. and they fight bears. this is padding.

no it wasn't, stop lying Logan

cut to teh Greenhouse...

THE BOI IS BACK!!!!! where was he? what's he been doing? IDK AND IDC!! he's not dead, he's still here, he's in a panel. i'm not even paying attention to the rest of the page, what's going on...

Black Tom is making them a vegetable plane to go help Laura cause the them got her help texts. mk. and Cuckoo is getting a text from Quint-head that Vic is breaking out of the Audrey Two

and cut back to Logan and friends, and he's in adamantium armor with a Muramasa blade. yeah...lame. if this was to sell action figures maybe, but we don't do that anymore these days. so this is just uhg. also, didn't Laura have one of these getups? are we now repeating the OTHER Wolverine because we don't have enough new ideas???

whelp, this one wasn't so bad (why'd it warrant such a comedic warning idk lol). we progressed a bit, we got some flashbacks, we got a lot of dumb padding/stretching. but Arkady is confirmed still here, and in part 8, so i'll take it. (still not convinced my conspiracy theory that he was originally supposed to be dead in part 1 and it was changed last second isn't true...he has no lines in these 2 pages and could've been added in after the fact...he still isn't in the opening lineups yet Aurora and Northstar are and they haven't appeared in a couple issues)

#kp reads comics #kp rants about comics #sabretooth war #victor creed #sabretooth #arkady rossovich #omega red

7 notes · View notes

katzirra · 4 months

Text

Okay, I'm a chapter from the end but I'll finish on my drive to work tomorrow but GOODNESS.

Like I keep saying; love the development of character thoughts and incentives!! It's nice to see that internal desire to be a better man in Thomas and really REALLY realizing how fucked up stuff is. The unhinging of Lucille more so.

The passage of time is done so well and is something that we don't grasp as nicely in the movie. How long this all would have gone on, how long it would have taken McMichael to get to England actually!! I love that a lot, it's very important to me. It's the biggest flaw of the movie for me; as a movie, we cannot grasp time very well. For all we know each cut is a new day, versus how drawn out days and weeks could be.

The ghosts are interesting, not as vivid an image as the movie, but my favorite is the one from under the bed. I forget which one it is right now unfortunately. I love how there's a narrative of "it watched" around the house, ghosts observing the living tenants.... ahhh

The chain of events and dramatization of events is nice, a bit eh to the original sometimes but narratively it flows nicely. I like the added sort of look in from characters who could be present in the scene in a way but not? Like Edith observing Thomas and Finn outside from the window, seeing his machine succeed. NICE TOUCH.

The desperation of her not wanting to believe her love of her life has done or did what he did and the up and down of that is much more emotional and turmoil ridden than the movie which is nice to experience. Makes me sadder. Though the final send off with them didn't hit....as hard? There's a lot to be had in that last exchange visually with the actors involved imo!! So we lose that. Lucille is much crazier and frenzied in the novel for sure - ALSO NICE NOTE OF THOMAS SEEING THE MANUSCRIPT BURNING AND IT BOTHERING HIM.

Also man!!! MAN!!! I LOVE THOMAS THOUGH. His struggle shit is so good. Him like hating that people see him for a handsome bitch and a lord~ and he's like man, I thought my wife's dad was a great dude and she saw me for my brain AND my huge dick unù

I also just... the novel really made me think more about how much I started wanting them to be able to be happy because I forget so much that her dad was an engineer?? She grew up around all that stuff and jargon!! She'd understand so much that Thomas would talk about or refer to. And as a MODERN WOMAN that's neat because it makes her that much different still....

I think the only thing I'm eh on is how DAZED I feel in this battle at the end? I feel very lost in it for some reason. Like since Thomas has been stabbed something about the pacing is throwing my ass??

I'm gonna back up and listen to the last two chapters and epilogue tomorrow :u

ALSO LIKE OKAY SO THE BIG THING WAS UHH THOMAS' FLASHBACK TO THE DAY THEIR FATHER DIED OR LIKE THE FIRST MAJOR TIME LUCILLE GOT BEATEN... The fucking GASLIGHTING AT 8 YEARS OLD BRO..... BROOOO.

Also like she's a little creep showing him foreimages on books?? LIKE DON'T SHOW HIM THE SEXY IMAGES ON THE BOOKS THAT'S WEIRD DUDE.... LIKE I'M SO.....MMMM. augh???

BUT ALSO ALSO I LOVED GETTING AN IMAGE OF THEIR FATHER HIS DISDAIN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY ESPECIALLY THEIR MOTHER AND LIKE SEEING WHERE LUCILLE WOULD DEVELOP THAT FROM... being cruel and it's learned behaviors from both mother AND father... and also more of Thomas' kind heart and inventing. I love the woman of action and man who just... never knows what to do and feels he can't help ever because his whole life he's been made to feel he can't do anything...

The guilt and gaslightis insane to think about. The it's the least you could do being the foundation of that whole incestuous situation and it just... kept going because of that narrative. If I love my sister, this makes her happy and we just can't be separated etc. INSANE. There was a lot of interesting shit with that one chapter - it packed a PUNCH???

Really good shit. Also like as much as I do love Thomas for a multi faceted little bastard, I love that the book very much is struggling to like stress that... IDK there's a lot of feelings on these characters and how they feel towards eachothet.

I do kinda wish the stabbing scene of Alan was done more emotional or weighted because it's a very well done scene and one of my favorite down strikes in the movie?? The book is very Lucille off the SHITS about it versus like HOW ARE THE MARRIED SHARPES DOIN" FELLAS? NOT GREAT. THERE'S A LOT GOING ON AND THERE'S A LOT OF BAD VIBES. Even Alan like... the author is so funny with him but I'd like to have gotten more flavor text with him there too. I did like the kinda Doctor Brain moment about thinking about organs etc.

I also might have not been paying as much attention at that moment abd might just need to go back a dee chapters tbh :0 we'll aee. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow and reflect better.

VERY GOOD THOUGH. GOSH.

#kat talks #the crimson peak novel is a good time honestly #it's hilarious and is a good companion piece for some expansion if you wanted just a little more spice on the source material #like it's a kick of paprika on it lol #a little chili oil #adds some kick #10/10 glad nemo got me to check it out!!

6 notes · View notes

sin-cognito · 8 months

Text

Kustard week 2023 day 6: the Snow Queen

Wordcount: 1715

~A snowflake fell into the boy’s eye and he stopped seeing good in the world~

@kustardweek

READ ON AO3

Sans' breath puffed into the cold evening air as he listened to a voicemail from his best friend.

"you doing anything tonight, sansy?" Red's gruff voice asked in the message. "wanna hang out at my place or something? i uhh... could use some company. got dumped. again."

He had received the call earlier while grocery shopping, but his phone was on silent mode and he hadn't felt it buzz in his pocket. He was only now checking any new message as he was walking the last few steps to his house, when a raspy noise on his left caught his attention.

"sansy? is that you, or are you a motherfucking burglar?" Red drawled as he slouched over the fence that separated their front lawns.

Sans and Red were childhood friends, neighbors since birth and had spent their entire life together. The proximity of their houses added to the fact that they frequented the same schools and often ended up in the same class, meant that they were as close as could be and spent virtually all their time together growing up. Even now they would usually see each other every other day, or at least as often as their jobs allowed them to. Or Red's girlfriends allowed him to, though Sans guessed they wouldn't have to worry about that for the moment.

It would be a lie if Sans pretended not to be jealous of Red and his capacity to get a girl so easily. He just had a thing with flirting, and once he had his eyesockets locked on a victim, it usually only took a few days before Sans would see the edgy skeleton bring her home for a 'good time', as Red liked to say.

Meanwhile Sans couldn't flirt to save his own life, and as a result, he had only known celibacy his entire life. He didn't mind, he was still young and didn't want to rush. Having Red as a best friend and neighbor just made it painfully obvious how late of a bloomer he was.

Of course, it didn't help in finding a partner that he had a massive crush on Red. But as the feelings were one-sided, Sans had never bothered confessing and he was fine with the situation as long as he could still be in Red's life, even as just a friend. Sure, it would be nice if he could find someone else to move on from his attraction to Red, but that didn't seem to be on the program for the foreseeable future.

"yeah it's me," Sans replied to his friend as he balanced his grocery bags in one hand while getting his key out with the other. No one was home for the week, his father was traveling around the country with his brother to find a good university for Papyrus. The house would become much less lively without him there next year... "i was about to call you back. just give me a few minutes to put everything in the fridge and i'll keep you company." He added belatedly, "sorry about the breakup."

"dude, it's freezing out there, your fridge's probably warmer than outside," Red grumbled before wobbling awkwardly toward the entrance of the garden. Snow didn't agree with his cane. "leave your stuff there and come with me, it's not like it's gonna melt."

Sans sighed. Would it kill Red to be a little patient? "dude, can't you wait like, 5 minutes?"

"no," Red croaked out, playfully giving Sans the finger over his shoulder as he reached the gate. "come on, let's go."

Sans rolled his eyes and internally berated himself for being such an idiot. He did as Red told him to and placed the bags on the floor in front of the door, grabbing two nice creams before he jogged a little to catch up to Red, who was playing with his cane while waiting.

"i'm gonna grab your arm," Sans warned before doing so, like he always did when he was about to make contact with Red. The other almost didn't flinch.

Sans passed a nice cream to his friend and then the two started making their way to the park nearby. Despite only being early evening, the sky was already dark but clear enough that Sans couldn't help but glance up once in a while at the stars. Of course he made sure to check where Red was going first, to warn him about possible obstacles or patches of ice that the other's cane wouldn't be able to detect.

"she said i was an asshole," Red mumbled when he was done with the nice cream, playing with the stick.

"you are an asshole," Sans deadpanned, making Red snort and Sans smiled fondly, happy that his friend couldn't read his expression. He'd probably figure Sans' feelings out just from that smile alone.

"she said i was the reason we kept fighting, and i don't know, maybe that's true," Red continued, but his tone was significantly lighter than just moments ago. "why do i fight so much all the time with all my girlfriends?"

"like i said, you're an asshole," Sans couldn't help blurting out, and Red laughed out loud this time.

It was true, Red could be... too much, in many regards. Sans loved him anyway, he had grown up with the other so he was used to it and knew how to handle Red's grumpiness.

"if i really was an asshole, i'd point out that you're crazy for buying nice cream in the winter," Red playfully waved the stick approximately in front of Sans. "who even does that?"

They continued their banter until they reached the park. Sans found a nice place near the frozen lake, covered with freshly fallen snow and described the view to his friend, who hummed appreciatively. Then suddenly Red unhooked from Sans' arm and removed his jacket before laying it down on the snowy grass.

"red, what are you doing! you're going to catch a cold!" Sans warned him as Red sat down on his jacket, leaving just enough space for Sans to join him. They'd be sitting very close, but Sans would fit.

In lieu of a reply, Red waved his arm around until he found Sans' hand and pulled him down. Sans let himself drop on the floor and instinctively wrapped an arm around his friend to keep him warm.

"aah, sansy... why do i keep getting dumped? am i really so hopeless that no one wants to date me long term? okay, i'm an asshole, but am i really that bad? i can't help it if all the girls and guys i date always piss me off!"

Sans gently rubbed Red's back as he let him complain and vent his SOUL's out.

What could Sans say though, to lift up Red's spirits? He was nothing but a childhood friend who had followed Red's numerous dating adventures since adolescence. With no experience of his own, it wasn't like he could give Red any real advice... All he had were those dumb feelings for Red that lead him nowhere.

"maybe your personality isn't the issue," Sans finally tried. "maybe you just have poor taste and keep falling for people who aren't compatible with you?"

'like i fell for you', Sans thought bitterly.

Red sighed and let himself fall dramatically into Sans' arms. "you're so right, them bitches don't deserve to date me!" Sans chuckled at his friend's antics, but then the atmosphere suddenly turned serious when Red made no move to release Sans. "it would be so much easier if you would fall in love with me, sansy... you'd be so good for me and we've been friends for so long, we gotta be compatible, right?"

Sans' SOUL skipped a beat, and he was suddenly very glad for Red's blindness as he felt his cheeks grow very hot.

"what are you saying this time? stop the nonsense, you idiot," he almost said without his voice wavering. Almost.

Red noticed. He had to. His shark grin grew sharper and Sans wondered if that was how he got girls and guys so easily. No wonder.

"come on, sansy. fall in love with me," Red repeated, his tone making it clear it was just a joke, but Sans' brain didn't function properly in the cold.

"okay," he blurted out, and then warned Red, "i'm gonna kiss you."

Sans grabbed Red's collar and pulled him in for a kiss.

Their mouths made contact and the two stayed like that for a few moments, neither making any move to draw away. Sans didn't know what to think of Red's reaction, or lack thereof, at first.

Then a hand snaked behind Sans' skull and Red opened his mouth, his newly summoned tongue brushing against Sans' teeth, asking for entrance that was easily granted. Sans parted his teeth and Red's warmth, scent and taste invading him, a full-body shudder drawing a gasp out of him that Red drank up.

It was Sans' first kiss and he had no idea what he was doing. Thankfully, Red took control over the situation and guided Sans' tongue into running against his crimson appendage.

They went at it for much longer than Sans ever thought kisses could last, and by the time he had to break the kiss, he was completely out of air.

"uhh... i... uhm..." He panted, trying to find what to say, or more precisely how to word the billion questions that were running through his head at the speed of light.

What was that? Why did Red kiss him back? Why did it feel so good? Was Red into him? Were they going to kiss again?

"sans, you better tell me that this wasn't a pity kiss," Red interrupted his thoughts, his tone serious. "cause if that was just a kiss to cheer me up or to joke around, i'm gonna be seriously hurt. you can't toy with my feelings like that, man."

Sans blinked and searched Red's expression for any hint that he was pulling Sans' fibula.

"what feelings?" He asked dumbly.

"my crush for you, duh. the one i've been desperately trying to move on from with stupid one night stands and random girlfriends."

Huh.

So Red wasn't the only one to be a massive, oblivious idiot.

#Cognito fic #Kustard #Kustard Week 2023 #Sans #Red #UF!Sans #Sans/UF!Sans #SFW

12 notes · View notes

ecoamerica · 2 months

Text

youtube

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

18K notes · View notes

somedaytakethetime · 2 years

Note

Hii, I hope you've been good. 🙂 Maybe I've finally recovered from the SerieA season by now, my sleeping schedule was fucked up for week because I kept watching stuff including this insanely long bus ride party. 😄 But I've never seen anything like it, people celebrating a football championship like that and I probably learned more about this club and what it means to Milan people in those few days than in all the months before! So in a way it was also good they didnt win like 2 years ago because no one would of been allowed to celebrate then. I also changed my mind about the trophy being ugly its actually pretty nice it looks like a giant golden martini glass and I'm almost sure Davide slept with it the night after they won it, he looked completely physically attracted to it. 😆😆 They all did tho and if they look likely to defend it next season I'll fly over and dress up as the trophy before it gets awarded.😊 Never thought I'd ever say this but maybe for once I'm grateful for my stupid deranged kink who got me into this mess, with your help. 😅

And just when I wondered what to do without the football stress the internationals started, I watched Italy vs Argentina but that wasnt fun. And I blame the italian manager, thats what you get for leaving all Milan players out of the squad! He ruined Chiellinis farewell match too and thats not nice. And now hes off to L.A., maybe I'll have to watch a bit more MLS now that so many Italians are joining! I also watched Portugal and then France v Denmark yesterday and that was alot more enjoyable even tho Simon still isnt playing but atleast he lopped the scary beard off and is looking so beautiful again! Both teams were playing well but I was so happy when Denmark won! How cool is the ginger striker? 🙂 Although I like Theo and would be okay with him winning but he also just won the italian championship so thats enough for a while. :D I didn't know he has a brother who looks almost like him and thought I was going crazy when I saw the two of them going on the pitch. 😅

And now Italy is playing again, I'm a bit worried but atleast there will be pretty players to look at. 😍 Hope your having a nice weekend! 🙂

~S.A.

Hello!! Welcome back!! I'm doing well, I hope you've been well too my love! Football is something else isn't it? One hell of a sport let me say... you laugh, you cry, you curse, you scream, and in the end you love these clubs all the same. The guys and the trophies are always hilarious to me because they look way into the cups, but bless I guess they work so hard and suffer so much for it that they deserve to make out with it a little. 😂 Dressing up as the trophy seems to be a recurring theme that we've all thought of.. when I see my favourite men kissing a tin cup I always feel jealous as hell of it which is ridiculous but also a vibe xD Isn't it nice to have off-the-beaten-path kinks now? See? Totally okay, what did I tell you? And also it got you into this mess with the rest of us and that's low-key a vibe I love for you 😌

I've had to miss Italy playing tonight because I was fighting my technologies but I need to peep on that tomorrow (it's past mid-night so it's already tomorrow but... you know xD) the only games I watched were my very own clowns because it's free on TV and then my Danish rolls! I was more than delighted with the match and the results but I don't know which striker is ginger? Kasper Dolberg? I always thought he was blonde but maybe he's red to some. 😅 I'm so damn happy Simon shaved off that bush off his face!! I am beyond relieved that his prince good looks are starting to come back, if he made me look at that beard for longer I would have lost the last of my nuts and bolts... Theo and his brother tend to scare me because they're not event twins... Lucas is older than Theo and yet I swear those dudes look the same to me... but at least Theo is a decent guy 😶

I hope you have a nice weekend too darling! And I hope your sleeping schedule continues to improve while football is out for while! 💗

#you need to come back and tell me which one is the ginger striker though...#otherwise i'm going to be looking at the Danes like ''WHICH ONE OF YOU HAS BEEN HIDING HE'S A REDHEAD FROM ME!?!??''#''DON'T YOU KNOW I'M INTO REDHEADS TOO!?!?''#i can't have these men lying to me like that... i don't accept deceit from most but especially not from the Danish #my Sandro anonie <3

0 notes

racheloveyunho · 3 years

Text

Till Death do us part - 2

Y/N grew up in a wealthy family, she always was seen as a beautiful and smart kid and was most likely to take her father’s place as the CEO of one of the most important companies in South Korea. However, after the death of her mother, Y/N’s family slowly started to break apart. Her father was always working to forget his uncalled pain while his kids were left alone at home.

She was 17 years old when her life took a sudden turn when she met him in a dark alley. He was a bloody mess, bruises everywhere but behind blood and dirt, she could see his beautiful features and his addictive gaze. Maybe she should have walked away, maybe she shouldn’t have helped him, but the moment his gaze locked with hers, she was already his.

Choi San was his name.

Genre: Mafia AU, smut, angst, fluff, stranger to lovers

Words: 2237

TW series: Y/N is described as an OC. Please be aware that this story will contain a lot of triggering content such as smut, blood, death, murder, drug, kidnapping, etc. Do not read if you are under a legal age!

TW chapter: Body shaming, reader being forced into a marriage, character got slapped, swearing, threats.

I was finally back home. Fortunately for me, my dad hadn’t noticed me since he was already sleeping on the couch.

I quickly went upstairs to my room and collapsed on my bed, my mind still processing what had happened earlier. It was scary to say the least but fascinating at the same time. I was still confused even after showering. This San had a deep effect on me, not only mentally but physically too.

“Choi San…” I muttered before closing my eyes and drifting into a deep sleep.

---------

Chapter 2

2 years after.

---------

Days and months went by so fast, I didn't even see them go by.

It has already been two years since my first meeting with San and since then, I didn't met him again. However, he was still on my mind, from the moment I woke up tired in the morning until the moment my head was hitting the pillow at night.

I just couldn't stop myself from thinking about him, his voice, his gaze, his touch, and the shivers he gave me when his mouth had come close to my ear.

"Hey sis’, what is going on? You had been absent-minded for a while and I still don't know why" Jin said with a hint of worry in his voice before he looked around, checking the surroundings to make sure we were alone "Is it because of dad?" he asked.

For the first time since our mother passed away, dad was at home for a whole month without any explanation. He was now working from home and even though It was something I dreamed of a few years ago, it was now so stuffy, I couldn’t breathe properly in my own house. Every single time I went outside of the comfort of my room, I silently prayed not to meet him, hoping that our house was big enough to let me avoid him.

"I'm fine but I'll be better if he wasn't around" I shrugged while looking at my plate "I'm not hungry today" I nonchalantly played with my food.

"Please force yourself and eat a little, you loosed too much weight recently" he furrowed his eyebrows with true concern in his soft brown eyes.

"I'm fine Jin, really! No need to worry for me" I stood up but felt a hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my track.

I turned around and saw my dad with his usual stern expression "Sit down." he calmly ordered.

I sat down without a word, I knew I was about to be lectured one more time.

"Why are you not eating?" my dad asked, voice sounding more as a threat than a question.

"Not hungry" I simply answered.

A long silence settled in the dining room, Jin and I were looking down, trying to avoid any eye contact with the man we referred to as our dad. I laughed internally at the situation, wondering if the kids in other families were afraid of their parents too.

"You don't have to eat if you don't want to, men love slim girls so it'll be good for you to start a diet." He stated, unbothered by the awkward silence.

I was annoyed by his remark 'how dare he' I thought 'Is he thinking my body is his?'

"I'll be dumb if I'd choose a man who loves me just for my body, I will not change anything for anyone" I retorted, Jin nodding in approval, visibly proud of me. But, my father didn’t seem pleased at all by my answer and my rebellious behavior.

"Well, I wasn't talking about any random man, but about your fiancé. He likes slim girls." my dad crossed his arms.

I shot a glance back at my father with wide eyes, he was smirking over my shocked expression, feeling visibly satisfied by the way he made me go silent.

"My fiancé? What are you talking about? I never had a boyfriend in my whole life, how could I have a fiancé?" I shouted, standing up from my chair which quickly and loudly fell on the ground.

"I chose a good boy for you, he is the son of a rich politician who will be useful to me and the future of my company. In two months, when you'll turn 20, you will marry him" he said, not sparing a glance at me as he busily taped on the screen of his new expensive phone.

My mouth was now wide open, and so was my brother's.

Jin stood up angrily, it was the first time I ever saw him defy our father's authority. His brown eyes who always seemed so soft to me were now darker than ever. The anger in his body was showing with his tensed muscles and the vein in his forehead that was angrily popping up. His jaw was so tight, I swore he could have been able to break his own teeth.

"What to do you mean she will marry him? Are you not concerned about your daughter's happiness? Can't you stop thinking about your work and think more about your family instead, for at least once in your life? That's why mom died! You-..." Jin got slapped by my father before he could even finish his sentence. Our father’s face was red and rage was visible through his eyes.

I gasped and kneeled myself to my brother's side, the impact was so hard that he was now laying on the ground, his right hand hiding his red cheek. Jin shot a death stare up at my father who was still standing in front of us.

"I heard that you want to integrate the Seoul national university, Y/N. You will need money for that, right? If you marry this man, I'll give you all the money you want. If not, you can already say goodbye to this dream of yours." he told me with a harsh voice "Think well cause your birthday is coming up" he added before exiting the room.

I collapsed on the floor, tears were stinging my eyes and blurring my vision. Jin hugged me tightly and patted my back, whispering sweet nothings to my ear to comfort me the best he could.

I hid my head on his neck and cried silently, I hated this, hated this situation, hated this life. I was like a bird trapped in a silver cage.

I ate nothing for the rest of the day after my dad had announced my upcoming wedding.

I still couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. How come a father could do this to his only daughter? Wasn't he supposed to love and cherish me?

It was Saturday and after a lazy morning, I finally stood up to do my daily routine. I put the prettiest dress I had on my dressing and put natural makeup on. I tried my best to cover up my dark circles and hide the exhaustion in my face caused by a long night of crying.

Today, my best friend Hana and I, planned to hang out together for a shopping day. It was the best way for me to think about something else than my current situation.

I took a look at my phone and saw her message "Hey honey, I'm waiting in front of your house~" I read before smiling and joining her outside the house, in front of the big gateway.

"Wow, you are stunning! Why is that? You're going to meet this San again?" She smiled widely.

Hana is the first friend I ever made in my life, I first met her when I was just 6 years old and she always stayed by my side even when I went through hard times. Her cheerful personality and her warm smile made her easy to get along with, she was the best at socializing, she was literally a burst of energy by herself and never failed to make me crack up a smile even when I wasn’t in a good mood. She made everyone feel attracted to her, she wasn’t only nice and outgoing but beautiful and funny as well. Her short and messy hair were completing her chubby cheeks and her brown eyes. Her tall frame and perfect curves made everyone drool over her, men and women.

She knew everything about my life. When something happened to me, she was the first one I talked to.

"I already told you! I know nothing about him, I don't even have his phone number, how could I meet him?" I pouted before laughing playfully.

We took the first bus we saw and headed downtown.

"It's a shame he isn't on any social media" she whined loudly "Dude, don't get me started" I answered, almost complaining.

During the bus ride, I talked once again about how I felt about San and the gorgeous charisma he had. Hana listened to me as if it was the first time I talked about this whilst I already told her a hundred times before.

Within ten minutes, we had reached our destination.

"Y/N! Look at this! I'm sure this top will fit you perfectly" I heard Hana yelling from the other side of the shop.

Everyone looked at us, some customers were judging us silently while others smiled, probably finding amusement in my friend’s behavior. I apologized to the other customers for the noise and quickly went to my friend's side, slightly embarrassed even though I was used to it. Hana didn't know the word "silent".

After 3 hours of shopping, I went outside to eat ice cream with Hana. We moved to a quiet spot with no one around. The weather was nice, it was a sunny day and I let myself relax under the comfortable heat. I always liked rainy days better but I liked to feel the sun against my skin from time to time.

"I'm sorry to say this Y/N, but your father is truly an asshole" Hana swore between her teeth after I told her what happened at home the previous day.

"I don't know what I'm going to do about this. Is it better to agree and then divorce this guy? But my dad is well-known, he always will find a way to keep me under his grip, no matter what I do. I feel completely useless and trapped, I can’t find a good way to escape from this" I spoke in a low tone, sadness filling my voice the more I talked.

I sighed, concerned by the situation I was into. Hana gently rubbed my back to give me some comfort while my head was on her shoulder. We stayed silent for a few minutes, both of us didn’t know what to say because we both knew that there was no way I could escape my fate.

"Excuse me, are you Kim Y/N?"

I turned around to see who had called my name. In front of me stood was a well-dressed man, a bit older than me with a confident look. He wasn't especially handsome, but he wasn't unpleasant to look at. He had this classic Korean vibe one could find everywhere here in Korea.

"Yes? Who are you?" I politely asked.

He took my hand in his own, making me stand up from the bench I was sitting in. Soon after, he put a slight kiss on the back of my hand.

"What the hell?" I shouted and took my hand off his.

It wasn't in our culture to do something like this so I first assumed he had grown up abroad but honestly, from what I knew, even in the USA or Europa no one kissed a perfect stranger met in the street less than ten seconds ago.

"Who the heck are you?" Hana jumped between the man and me.

"I'm Hwang Jinyoung, her future husband" he simply stated, a smirk on his face.

"I never agreed on that." I frowned my eyebrows at his statement.

"What do you mean you never agreed? Your father told us that you were glad to be my future wife" The man seemed truly surprised or at least, he was pretending well to be.

"He lied!" I yelled out, the anger taking over me while I clenched my fists, nails finding their way onto y skin.

I was angry that my father had one more time, talked for me without my consent. My body was shaking from anger while the man laughed at my reaction.

"Move, you're in my way" He suddenly stopped laughing and violently pushed Hana to the ground.

My eyes opened wide from the shock. I was about to check on Hana to be sure she wasn't hurt but Jinyoung grabbed my wrist and pulled me in his chest.

"Why are you so angry? I will take good care of you!" he chuckled.

"Let me go!" I screamed against him, feeling the tears tingling my eyes.

I suddenly felt a strong arm around my waist which encircled me from behind.

"Holy shit." Hana gasped when she saw the handsome man who was protectively hugging me.

I had no need to look back, I already knew who it was. This touch and this warmness were simply unforgettable.

"If you don't let her go in the next five seconds, I'll blow your hands off." the voice behind me growled against Jinyoung.

The beating of my heart quickened. For the past two years I had dreamed about him every night and now, I was finally able to see him again.

"San!" I shouted happily, finally looking to the handsome boy. He smiled back atme but his expression became cold again as he stared at Jinyoung. My so-called husband finally let my wrist go and hardly swallowed his spit.

"Y-you! What are you doing here?" he asked with a shaking voice. I had no doubt about the fact that he knew who San was and that he probably knew him better than I did.

---------

Edit: Guys, I'm so surprised, I didn't think I would get so many likes for this series, I just uploaded it two days ago after all lol but I'm glad! The next chapter is already done but I'll wait a bit before uploading it, maybe next week? Anyways, thank you again!

Tag list:

@hijirikaww @pinkchampagne2

111 notes · View notes

innuendostudios · 3 years

Text

Thoughts on: Criterion's Neo-Noir Collection

I have written up all 26 films* in the Criterion Channel's Neo-Noir Collection.

Legend: rw - rewatch; a movie I had seen before going through the collection dnrw - did not rewatch; if a movie met two criteria (a. I had seen it within the last 18 months, b. I actively dislike it) I wrote it up from memory.

* in September, Brick leaves the Criterion Channel and is replaced in the collection with Michael Mann's Thief. May add it to the list when that happens.

Note: These are very "what was on my mind after watching." No effort has been made to avoid spoilers, nor to make the plot clear for anyone who hasn't seen the movies in question. Decide for yourself if that's interesting to you.

Cotton Comes to Harlem I feel utterly unequipped to asses this movie. This and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song the following year are regularly cited as the progenitors of the blaxploitation genre. (This is arguably unfair, since both were made by Black men and dealt much more substantively with race than the white-directed films that followed them.) Its heroes are a couple of Black cops who are treated with suspicion both by their white colleagues and by the Black community they're meant to police. I'm not 100% clear on whether they're the good guys? I mean, I think they are. But the community's suspicion of them seems, I dunno... well-founded? They are working for The Man. And there's interesting discussion to the had there - is the the problem that the law is carried out by racists, or is the law itself racist? Can Black cops make anything better? But it feels like the film stacks the deck in Gravedigger and Coffin Ed's favor; the local Black church is run by a conman, the Back-to-Africa movement is, itself, a con, and the local Black Power movement is treated as an obstacle. Black cops really are the only force for justice here. Movie portrays Harlem itself as a warm, thriving, cultured community, but the people that make up that community are disloyal and easily fooled. Felt, to me, like the message was "just because they're cops doesn't mean they don't have Black soul," which, nowadays, we would call copaganda. But, then, do I know what I'm talking about? Do I know how much this played into or off of or against stereotypes from 1970? Was this a radical departure I don't have the context to appreciate? Is there substance I'm too white and too many decades removed to pick up on? Am I wildly overthinking this? I dunno. Seems like everyone involved was having a lot of fun, at least. That bit is contagious.

Across 110th Street And here's the other side of the "race film" equation. Another movie set in Harlem with a Black cop pulled between the police, the criminals, and the public, but this time the film is made by white people. I like it both more and less. Pro: this time the difficult position of Black cop who's treated with suspicion by both white cops and Black Harlemites is interrogated. Con: the Black cop has basically no personality other than "honest cop." Pro: the racism of the police force is explicit and systemic, as opposed to comically ineffectual. Con: the movie is shaped around a racist white cop who beats the shit out of Black people but slowly forms a bond with his Black partner. Pro: the Black criminal at the heart of the movie talks openly about how the white world has stacked the deck against him, and he's soulful and relateable. Con: so of course he dies in the end, because the only way privileged people know to sympathetize with minorities is to make them tragic (see also: The Boys in the Band, Philadelphia, and Brokeback Mountain for gay men). Additional con: this time Harlem is portrayed as a hellhole. Barely any of the community is even seen. At least the shot at the end, where the criminal realizes he's going to die and throws the bag of money off a roof and into a playground so the Black kids can pick it up before the cops reclaim it was powerful. But overall... yech. Cotton Comes to Harlem felt like it wasn't for me; this feels like it was 100% for me and I respect it less for that.

The Long Goodbye (rw) The shaggiest dog. Like much Altman, more compelling than good, but very compelling. Raymond Chandler's story is now set in the 1970's, but Philip Marlowe is the same Philip Marlowe of the 1930's. I get the sense there was always something inherently sad about Marlowe. Classic noir always portrayed its detectives as strong-willed men living on the border between the straightlaced world and its seedy underbelly, crossing back and forth freely but belonging to neither. But Chandler stresses the loneliness of it - or, at least, the people who've adapted Chandler do. Marlowe is a decent man in an indecent world, sorting things out, refusing to profit from misery, but unable to set anything truly right. Being a man out of step is here literalized by putting him forty years from the era where he belongs. His hardboiled internal monologue is now the incessant mutterings of the weird guy across the street who never stops smoking. Like I said: compelling! Kael's observation was spot on: everyone in the movie knows more about the mystery than he does, but he's the only one who cares. The mystery is pretty threadbare - Marlowe doesn't detect so much as end up in places and have people explain things to him. But I've seen it two or three times now, and it does linger.

Chinatown (rw) I confess I've always been impressed by Chinatown more than I've liked it. Its story structure is impeccable, its atmosphere is gorgeous, its noirish fatalism is raw and real, its deconstruction of the noir hero is well-observed, and it's full of clever detective tricks (the pocket watches, the tail light, the ruler). I've just never connected with it. Maybe it's a little too perfectly crafted. (I feel similar about Miller's Crossing.) And I've always been ambivalent about the ending. In Towne's original ending, Evelyn shoots Noah Cross dead and get arrested, and neither she nor Jake can tell the truth of why she did it, so she goes to jail for murder and her daughter is in the wind. Polansky proposed the ending that exists now, where Evelyn just dies, Cross wins, and Jake walks away devastated. It communicates the same thing: Jake's attempt to get smart and play all the sides off each other instead of just helping Evelyn escape blows up in his face at the expense of the woman he cares about and any sense of real justice. And it does this more dramatically and efficiently than Towne's original ending. But it also treats Evelyn as narratively disposable, and hands the daughter over to the man who raped Evelyn and murdered her husband. It makes the women suffer more to punch up the ending. But can I honestly say that Towne's ending is the better one? It is thematically equal, dramatically inferior, but would distract me less. Not sure what the calculus comes out to there. Maybe there should be a third option. Anyway! A perfect little contraption. Belongs under a glass dome.

Night Moves (rw) Ah yeah, the good shit. This is my quintessential 70's noir. This is three movies in a row about detectives. Thing is, the classic era wasn't as chockablock with hardboiled detectives as we think; most of those movies starred criminals, cops, and boring dudes seduced to the darkness by a pair of legs. Gumshoes just left the strongest impressions. (The genre is said to begin with Maltese Falcon and end with Touch of Evil, after all.) So when the post-Code 70's decided to pick the genre back up while picking it apart, it makes sense that they went for the 'tecs first. The Long Goodbye dragged the 30's detective into the 70's, and Chinatown went back to the 30's with a 70's sensibility. But Night Moves was about detecting in the Watergate era, and how that changed the archetype. Harry Moseby is the detective so obsessed with finding the truth that he might just ruin his life looking for it, like the straight story will somehow fix everything that's broken, like it'll bring back a murdered teenager and repair his marriage and give him a reason to forgive the woman who fucked him just to distract him from some smuggling. When he's got time to kill, he takes out a little, magnetic chess set and recreates a famous old game, where three knight moves (get it?) would have led to a beautiful checkmate had the player just seen it. He keeps going, self-destructing, because he can't stand the idea that the perfect move is there if he can just find it. And, no matter how much we see it destroy him, we, the audience, want him to keep going; we expect a satisfying resolution to the mystery. That's what we need from a detective picture; one character flat-out compares Harry to Sam Spade. But what if the truth is just... Watergate? Just some prick ruining things for selfish reasons? Nothing grand, nothing satisfying. Nothing could be more noir, or more neo-, than that.

Farewell, My Lovely Sometimes the only thing that makes a noir neo- is that it's in color and all the blood, tits, and racism from the books they're based on get put back in. This second stab at Chandler is competant but not much more than that. Mitchum works as Philip Marlowe, but Chandler's dialogue feels off here, like lines that worked on the page don't work aloud, even though they did when Bogie said them. I'll chalk it up to workmanlike but uninspired direction. (Dang this looks bland so soon after Chinatown.) Moose Malloy is a great character, and perfectly cast. (Wasn't sure at first, but it's true.) Some other interesting cats show up and vanish - the tough brothel madam based on Brenda Allen comes to mind, though she's treated with oddly more disdain than most of the other hoods and is dispatched quicker. In general, the more overt racism and misogyny doesn't seem to do anything except make the movie "edgier" than earlier attempts at the same material, and it reads kinda try-hard. But it mostly holds together. *shrug*

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (dnrw) Didn't care for this at all. Can't tell if the script was treated as a jumping-off point or if the dialogue is 100% improvised, but it just drags on forever and is never that interesting. Keeps treating us to scenes from the strip club like they're the opera scenes in Amadeus, and, whatever, I don't expect burlesque to be Mozart, but Cosmo keeps saying they're an artful, classy joint, and I keep waiting for the show to be more than cheap, lazy camp. How do you make gratuitious nudity boring? Mind you, none of this is bad as a rule - I love digressions and can enjoy good sleaze, and it's clear the filmmakers care about what they're making. They just did not sell it in a way I wanted to buy. Can't remember what edit I watched; I hope it was the 135 minute one, because I cannot imagine there being a longer edit out there.

The American Friend (dnrw) It's weird that this is Patricia Highsmith, right? That Dennis Hopper is playing Tom Ripley? In a cowboy hat? I gather that Minghella's version wasn't true to the source, but I do love that movie, and this is a long, long way from that. This Mr. Ripley isn't even particularly talented! Anyway, this has one really great sequence, where a regular guy has been coerced by crooks into murdering someone on a train platform, and, when the moment comes to shoot, he doesn't. And what follows is a prolonged sequence of an amateur trying to surreptitiously tail a guy across a train station and onto another train, and all the while you're not sure... is he going to do it? is he going to chicken out? is he going to do it so badly he gets caught? It's hard not to put yourself in the protagonist's shoes, wondering how you would handle the situation, whether you could do it, whether you could act on impulse before your conscience could catch up with you. It drags on a long while and this time it's a good thing. Didn't much like the rest of the movie, it's shapeless and often kind of corny, and the central plot hook is contrived. (It's also very weird that this is the only Wim Wenders I've seen.) But, hey, I got one excellent sequence, not gonna complain.

The Big Sleep Unlike the 1946 film, I can follow the plot of this Big Sleep. But, also unlike the 1946 version, this one isn't any damn fun. Mitchum is back as Marlowe (this is three Marlowes in five years, btw), and this time it's set in the 70's and in England, for some reason. I don't find this offensive, but neither do I see what it accomplishes? Most of the cast is still American. (Hi Jimmy!) Still holds together, but even less well than Farewell, My Lovely. But I do find it interesting that the neo-noir era keeps returning to Chandler while it's pretty much left Hammet behind (inasmuch as someone whose genes are spread wide through the whole genre can be left behind). Spade and the Continental Op, straightshooting tough guys who come out on top in the end, seem antiquated in the (post-)modern era. But Marlowe's goodness being out of sync with the world around him only seems more poignant the further you take him from his own time. Nowadays you can really only do Hammett as pastiche, but I sense that you could still play Chandler straight.

Eyes of Laura Mars The most De Palma movie I've seen not made by De Palma, complete with POV shots, paranormal hoodoo, and fixation with sex, death, and whether images of such are art or exploitation (or both). Laura Mars takes photographs of naked women in violent tableux, and has gotten quite famous doing so, but is it damaging to women? The movie has more than a superficial engagement with this topic, but only slightly more than superficial. Kept imagining a movie that is about 30% less serial killer story and 30% more art conversations. (But, then, I have an art degree and have never murdered anyone, so.) Like, museums are full of Biblical paintings full of nude women and slaughter, sometimes both at once, and they're called masterpieces. Most all of them were painted by men on commission from other men. Now Laura Mars makes similar images in modern trappings, and has models made of flesh and blood rather than paint, and it's scandalous? Why is it only controversial once women are getting paid for it? On the other hand, is this just the master's tools? Is she subverting or challenging the male gaze, or just profiting off of it? Or is a woman profiting off of it, itself, a subversion? Is it subversive enough to account for how it commodifies female bodies? These questions are pretty clearly relevant to the movie itself, and the movies in general, especially after the fall of the Hays Code when people were really unrestrained with the blood and boobies. And, heck, the lead is played by the star of Bonnie and Clyde! All this is to say: I wish the movie were as interested in these questions as I am. What's there is a mildly diverting B-picture. There's one great bit where Laura's seeing through the killer's eyes (that's the hook, she gets visions from the murderer's POV; no, this is never explained) and he's RIGHT BEHIND HER, so there's a chase where she charges across an empty room only able to see her own fleeing self from ten feet behind. That was pretty great! And her first kiss with the detective (because you could see a mile away that the detective and the woman he's supposed to protect are gonna fall in love) is immediately followed by the two freaking out about how nonsensical it is for them to fall in love with each other, because she's literally mourning multiple deaths and he's being wildly unprofessional, and then they go back to making out. That bit was great, too. The rest... enh.

The Onion Field What starts off as a seemingly not-that-noirish cops-vs-crooks procedural turns into an agonizingly protracted look at the legal system, with the ultimate argument that the very idea of the law ever resulting in justice is a lie. Hoo! I have to say, I'm impressed. There's a scene where a lawyer - whom I'm not sure is even named, he's like the seventh of thirteen we've met - literally quits the law over how long this court case about two guys shooting a cop has taken. He says the cop who was murdered has been forgotten, his partner has never gotten to move on because the case has lasted eight years, nothing has been accomplished, and they should let the two criminals walk and jail all the judges and lawyers instead. It's awesome! The script is loaded with digressions and unnecessary details, just the way I like it. Can't say I'm impressed with the execution. Nothing is wrong, exactly, but the performances all seem a tad melodramatic or a tad uninspired. Camerawork is, again, purely functional. It's no masterpiece. But that second half worked for me. (And it's Ted Danson's first movie! He did great.)

Body Heat (rw) Let's say up front that this is a handsomely-made movie. Probably the best looking thing on the list since Night Moves. Nothing I've seen better captures the swelter of an East Coast heatwave, or the lusty feeling of being too hot to bang and going at it regardless. Kathleen Turner sells the hell out of a femme fatale. There are a lot of good lines and good performances (Ted Danson is back and having the time of his life). I want to get all that out of the way, because this is a movie heavily modeled after Double Indemnity, and I wanted to discuss its merits before I get into why inviting that comparison doesn't help the movie out. In a lot of ways, it's the same rules as the Robert Mitchum Marlowe movies - do Double Indemnity but amp up the sex and violence. And, to a degree it works. (At least, the sex does, dunno that Double Indemnity was crying out for explosions.) But the plot is amped as well, and gets downright silly. Yeah, Mrs. Dietrichson seduces Walter Neff so he'll off her husband, but Neff clocks that pretty early and goes along with it anyway. Everything beyond that is two people keeping too big a secret and slowly turning on each other. But here? For the twists to work Matty has to be, from frame one, playing four-dimensional chess on the order of Senator Palpatine, and its about as plausible. (Exactly how did she know, after she rebuffed Ned, he would figure out her local bar and go looking for her at the exact hour she was there?) It's already kind of weird to be using the spider woman trope in 1981, but to make her MORE sexually conniving and mercenary than she was in the 40's is... not great. As lurid trash, it's pretty fun for a while, but some noir stuff can't just be updated, it needs to be subverted or it doesn't justify its existence.

Blow Out Brian De Palma has two categories of movie: he's got his mainstream, director-for-hire fare, where his voice is either reigned in or indulged in isolated sequences that don't always jive with the rest fo the film, and then there's his Brian De Palma movies. My mistake, it seems, is having seen several for-hires from throughout his career - The Untouchables (fine enough), Carlito's Way (ditto, but less), Mission: Impossible (enh) - but had only seen De Palma-ass movies from his late period (Femme Fatale and The Black Dahlia, both of which I think are garbage). All this to say: Blow Out was my first classic-era De Palma, and holy fucking shit dudes. This was (with caveats) my absolute and entire jam. I said I could enjoy good sleaze, and this is good friggin' sleaze. (Though far short of De Palma at his sleaziest, mercifully.) The splitscreens, the diopter shots, the canted angles, how does he make so many shlocky things work?! John Travolta's sound tech goes out to get fresh wind fx for the movie he's working on, and we get this wonderful sequence of visuals following sounds as he turns his attention and his microphone to various noises - a couple on a walk, a frog, an owl, a buzzing street lamp. Later, as he listens back to the footage, the same sequence plays again, but this time from his POV; we're seeing his memory as guided by the same sequence of sounds, now recreated with different shots, as he moves his pencil in the air mimicking the microphone. When he mixes and edits sounds, we hear the literal soundtrack of the movie we are watching get mixed and edited by the person on screen. And as he tries to unravel a murder mystery, he uses what's at hand: magnetic tape, flatbed editors, an animation camera to turn still photos from the crime scene into a film and sync it with the audio he recorded; it's forensics using only the tools of the editing room. As someone who's spent some time in college editing rooms, this is a hoot and a half. Loses a bit of steam as it goes on and the film nerd stuff gives way to a more traditional thriller, but rallies for a sound-tech-centered final setpiece, which steadily builds to such madcap heights you can feel the air thinning, before oddly cutting its own tension and then trying to build it back up again. It doesn't work as well the second time. But then, that shot right after the climax? Damn. Conflicted on how the movie treats the female lead. I get why feminist film theorists are so divided on De Palma. His stuff is full of things feminists (rightly) criticize, full of women getting naked when they're not getting stabbed, but he also clearly finds women fascinating and has them do empowered and unexpected things, and there are many feminist reads of his movies. Call it a mixed bag. But even when he's doing tropey shit, he explores the tropes in unexpected ways. Definitely the best movie so far that I hadn't already seen.

Cutter's Way (rw) Alex Cutter is pitched to us as an obnoxious-but-sympathetic son of a bitch, and, you know, two out of three ain't bad. Watched this during my 2020 neo-noir kick and considered skipping it this time because I really didn't enjoy it. Found it a little more compelling this go around, while being reminded of why my feelings were room temp before. Thematically, I'm onboard: it's about a guy, Cutter, getting it in his head that he's found a murderer and needs to bring him to justice, and his friend, Bone, who intermittently helps him because he feels bad that Cutter lost his arm, leg, and eye in Nam and he also feels guilty for being in love with Cutter's wife. The question of whether the guy they're trying to bring down actually did it is intentionally undefined, and arguably unimportant; they've got personal reasons to see this through. Postmodern and noirish, fixated with the inability to ever fully know the truth of anything, but starring people so broken by society that they're desperate for certainty. (Pretty obvious parallels to Vietnam.) Cutter's a drunk and kind of an asshole, but understandably so. Bone's shiftlessness is the other response to a lack of meaning in the world, to the point where making a decision, any decision, feels like character growth, even if it's maybe killing a guy whose guilt is entirely theoretical. So, yeah, I'm down with all of this! A- in outline form. It's just that Cutter is so uninterestingly unpleasant and no one else on screen is compelling enough to make up for it. His drunken windups are tedious and his sanctimonious speeches about what the war was like are, well, true and accurate but also obviously manipulative. It's two hours with two miserable people, and I think Cutter's constant chatter is supposed to be the comic relief but it's a little too accurate to drunken rambling, which isn't funny if you're not also drunk. He's just tedious, irritating, and periodically racist. Pass.

Blood Simple (rw) I'm pretty cool on the Coens - there are things I've liked, even loved, in every Coen film I've seen, but I always come away dissatisfied. For a while, I kept going to their movies because I was sure eventually I'd love one without qualification. No Country for Old Men came close, the first two acts being master classes in sustained tension. But then the third act is all about denying closure: the protagonist is murdered offscreen, the villain's motives are never explained, and it ends with an existentialist speech about the unfathomable cruelty of the world. And it just doesn't land for me. The archness of the Coen's dialogue, the fussiness of their set design, the kinda-intimate, kinda-awkward, kinda-funny closeness of the camera's singles, it cannot sell me on a devastating meditation about meaninglessness. It's only ever sold me on the Coens' own cleverness. And that archness, that distancing, has typified every one of their movies I've come close to loving. Which is a long-ass preamble to saying, holy heck, I was not prepared for their very first movie to be the one I'd been looking for! I watched it last year and it remains true on rewatch: Blood Simple works like gangbusters. It's kind of Double Indemnity (again) but played as a comedy of errors, minus the comedy: two people romantically involved feeling their trust unravel after a murder. And I think the first thing that works for me is that utter lack of comedy. It's loaded with the Coens' trademark ironies - mostly dramatic in this case - but it's all played straight. Unlike the usual lead/femme fatale relationship, where distrust brews as the movie goes on, the audience knows the two main characters can trust each other. There are no secret duplicitous motives waiting to be revealed. The audience also know why they don't trust each other. (And it's all communicated wordlessly, btw: a character enters a scene and we know, based on the information that character has, how it looks to them and what suspicions it would arouse, even as we know the truth of it). The second thing that works is, weirdly, that the characters aren't very interesting?! Ray and Abby have almost no characterization. Outside of a general likability, they are blank slates. This is a weakness in most films, but, given the agonizingly long, wordless sequences where they dispose of bodies or hide from gunfire, you're left thinking not "what will Ray/Abby do in this scenario," because Ray and Abby are relatively elemental and undefined, but "what would I do in this scenario?" Which creates an exquisite tension but also, weirdly, creates more empathy than I feel for the Coens' usual cast of personalities. It's supposed to work the other way around! Truly enjoyable throughout but absolutely wonderful in the suspenseful-as-hell climax. Good shit right here.

Body Double The thing about erotic thrillers is everything that matters is in the name. Is it thrilling? Is it erotic? Good; all else is secondary. De Palma set out to make the most lurid, voyeuristic, horny, violent, shocking, steamy movie he could come up with, and its success was not strictly dependent on the lead's acting ability or the verisimilitude of the plot. But what are we, the modern audience, to make of it once 37 years have passed and, by today's standards, the eroticism is quite tame and the twists are no longer shocking? Then we're left with a nonsensical riff on Vertigo, a specularization of women that is very hard to justify, and lead actor made of pulped wood. De Palma's obsessions don't cohere into anything more this time; the bits stolen from Hitchcock aren't repurposed to new ends, it really is just Hitch with more tits and less brains. (I mean, I still haven't seen Vertigo, but I feel 100% confident in that statement.) The diopter shots and rear-projections this time look cheap (literally so, apparently; this had 1/3 the budget of Blow Out). There are some mildly interesting setpieces, but nothing compared to Travolta's auditory reconstructions or car chase where he tries to tail a subway train from street level even if it means driving through a frickin parade like an inverted French Connection, goddamn Blow Out was a good movie! Anyway. Melanie Griffith seems to be having fun, at least. I guess I had a little as well, but it was, at best, diverting, and a real letdown.

The Hit Surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. Terrance Stamp flips on the mob and spends ten years living a life of ease in Spain, waiting for the day they find and kill him. Movie kicks off when they do find him, and what follows is a ramshackle road movie as John Hurt and a young Tim Roth attempt to drive him to Paris so they can shoot him in front of his old boss. Stamp is magnetic. He's spent a decade reading philosophy and seems utterly prepared for death, so he spends the trip humming, philosophizing, and being friendly with his captors when he's not winding them up. It remains unclear to the end whether the discord he sews between Roth and Hurt is part of some larger plan of escape or just for shits and giggles. There's also a decent amount of plot for a movie that's not terribly plot-driven - just about every part of the kidnapping has tiny hitches the kidnappers aren't prepared for, and each has film-long repercussions, drawing the cops closer and somehow sticking Laura del Sol in their backseat. The ongoing questions are when Stamp will die, whether del Sol will die, and whether Roth will be able to pull the trigger. In the end, it's actually a meditation on ethics and mortality, but in a quiet and often funny way. It's not going to go down as one of my new favs, but it was a nice way to spend a couple hours.

Trouble in Mind (dnrw) I fucking hated this movie. It's been many months since I watched it, do I remember what I hated most? Was it the bit where a couple of country bumpkins who've come to the city walk into a diner and Mr. Bumpkin clocks that the one Black guy in the back as obviously a criminal despite never having seen him before? Was it the part where Kris Kristofferson won't stop hounding Mrs. Bumpkin no matter how many times she demands to be left alone, and it's played as romantic because obviously he knows what she needs better than she does? Or is it the part where Mr. Bumpkin reluctantly takes a job from the Obvious Criminal (who is, in fact, a criminal, and the only named Black character in the movie if I remember correctly, draw your own conclusions) and, within a week, has become a full-blown hood, which is exemplified by a lot, like, a lot of queer-coding? The answer to all three questions is yes. It's also fucking boring. Even out-of-drag Divine's performance as the villain can't save it.

Manhunter 'sfine? I've still never seen Silence of the Lambs, nor any of the Hopkins Lecter movies, nor, indeed, any full episode of the show. So the unheimlich others get seeing Brian Cox play Hannibal didn't come into play. Cox does a good job with him, but he's barely there. Shame, cuz he's the most interesting part of the movie. Honestly, there's a lot of interesting stuff that's barely there. Will Graham being a guy who gets into the heads of serial killers is explored well enough, and Mann knows how to direct a police procedural such that it's both contemplative and propulsive. But all the other themes it points at? Will's fear that he understands murderers a little too well? Hannibal trying to nudge him towards becoming one? Whatever dance Hannibal and Tooth Fairy are doing? What Tooth Fairy's deal is, anyway? (Why does he wear fake teeth and bite things? Why is he fixated on the red dragon? Does the bit where he says "Francis is gone forever" mean he has DID?) None of it goes anywhere or amounts to anything. I mean, it's certainly more interesting with this stuff than without, but it has that feel of a book that's been pared of its interesting bits to fit the runtime (or, alternately, pulp that's been sloppily elevated). I still haven't made my mind up on Mann's cold, precise camera work, but at least it gives me something to look at. It's fine! This is fine.

Mona Lisa (rw) Gave this one another shot. Bob Hoskins is wonderful as a hood out of his depth in classy places, quick to anger but just as quick to let anger go (the opening sequence where he's screaming on his ex-wife's doorstep, hurling trash cans at her house, and one minute later thrilled to see his old car, is pretty nice). And Cathy Tyson's working girl is a subtler kind of fascinating, exuding a mixture of coldness and kindness. It's just... this is ultimately a story about how heartbreaking it is when the girl you like is gay, right? It's Weezer's Pink Triangle: The Movie. It's not homophobic, exactly - Simone isn't demonized for being a lesbian - but it's still, like, "man, this straight white guy's pain is so much more interesting than the Black queer sex worker's." And when he's yelling "you woulda done it!" at the end, I can't tell if we're supposed to agree with him. Seems pretty clear that she wouldn'ta done it, at least not without there being some reveal about her character that doesn't happen, but I don't think the ending works if we don't agree with him, so... I'm like 70% sure the movie does Simone dirty there. For the first half, their growing relationship feels genuine and natural, and, honestly, the story being about a real bond that unfortunately means different things to each party could work if it didn't end with a gun and a sock in the jaw. Shape feels jagged as well; what feels like the end of the second act or so turns out to be the climax. And some of the symbolism is... well, ok, Simone gives George money to buy more appropriate clothes for hanging out in high end hotels, and he gets a tan leather jacket and a Hawaiian shirt, and their first proper bonding moment is when she takes him out for actual clothes. For the rest of the movie he is rocking double-breasted suits (not sure I agree with the striped tie, but it was the eighties, whaddya gonna do?). Then, in the second half, she sends him off looking for her old streetwalker friend, and now he looks completely out of place in the strip clubs and bordellos. So far so good. But then they have this run-in where her old pimp pulls a knife and cuts George's arm, so, with his nice shirt torn and it not safe going home (I guess?) he starts wearing the Hawaiian shirt again. So around the time he's starting to realize he doesn't really belong in Simone's world or the lowlife world he came from anymore, he's running around with the classy double-breasted suit jacket over the garish Hawaiian shirt, and, yeah, bit on the nose guys. Anyway, it has good bits, I just feel like a movie that asks me to feel for the guy punching a gay, Black woman in the face needs to work harder to earn it. Bit of wasted talent.

The Bedroom Window Starts well. Man starts an affair with his boss' wife, their first night together she witnesses an attempted murder from his window, she worries going to the police will reveal the affair to her husband, so the man reports her testimony to the cops claiming he's the one who saw it. Young Isabelle Huppert is the perfect woman for a guy to risk his career on a crush over, and Young Steve Guttenberg is the perfect balance of affability and amorality. And it flows great - picks just the right media to res. So then he's talking to the cops, telling them what she told him, and they ask questions he forgot to ask her - was the perp's jacket a blazer or a windbreaker? - and he has to guess. Then he gets called into the police lineup, and one guy matches her description really well, but is it just because he's wearing his red hair the way she described it? He can't be sure, doesn't finger any of them. He finds out the cops were pretty certain about one of the guys, so he follows the one he thinks it was around, looking for more evidence, and another girl is attacked right outside a bar he knows the redhead was at. Now he's certain! But he shows the boss' wife the guy and she's not certain, and she reminds him they don't even know if the guy he followed is the same guy the police suspected! And as he feeds more evidence to the cops, he has to lie more, because he can't exactly say he was tailing the guy around the city. So, I'm all in now. Maybe it's because I'd so recently rewatched Night Moves and Cutter's Way, but this seems like another story about uncertainty. He's really certain about the guy because it fits narratively, and we, the audience, feel the same. But he's not actually a witness, he doesn't have actual evidence, he's fitting bits and pieces together like a conspiracy theorist. He's fixating on what he wants to be true. Sign me up! But then it turns out he's 100% correct about who the killer is but his lies are found out and now the cops think he's the killer and I realize, oh, no, this movie isn't nearly as smart as I thought it was. Egg on my face! What transpires for the remaining half of the runtime is goofy as hell, and someone with shlockier sensibilities could have made a meal of it, but Hanson, despite being a Corman protege, takes this silliness seriously in the all wrong ways. Next!

Homicide (rw? I think I saw most of this on TV one time) Homicide centers around the conflicted loyalties of a Jewish cop. It opens with the Jewish cop and his white gentile partner taking over a case with a Black perp from some Black FBI agents. The media is making a big thing about the racial implications of the mostly white cops chasing down a Black man in a Black neighborhood. And inside of 15 minutes the FBI agent is calling the lead a k*ke and the gentile cop is calling the FBI agent a f****t and there's all kinds of invective for Black people. The film is announcing its intentions out the gate: this movie is about race. But the issue here is David Mamet doesn't care about race as anything other than a dramatic device. He's the Ubisoft of filmmakers, having no coherent perspective on social issues but expecting accolades for even bringing them up. Mamet is Jewish (though lead actor Joe Mantegna definitely is not) but what is his position on the Jewish diaspora? The whole deal is Mantegna gets stuck with a petty homicide case instead of the big one they just pinched from the Feds, where a Jewish candy shop owner gets shot in what looks like a stickup. Her family tries to appeal to his Jewishness to get him to take the case seriously, and, after giving them the brush-off for a long time, finally starts following through out of guilt, finding bits and pieces of what may or may not be a conspiracy, with Zionist gun runners and underground neo-Nazis. But, again: all of these are just dramatic devices. Mantegna's Jewishness (those words will never not sound ridiculous together) has always been a liability for him as a cop (we are told, not shown), and taking the case seriously is a reclamation of identity. The Jews he finds community with sold tommyguns to revolutionaries during the founding of Israel. These Jews end up blackmailing him to get a document from the evidence room. So: what is the film's position on placing stock in one's Jewish identity? What is its position on Israel? What is its opinion on Palestine? Because all three come up! And the answer is: Mamet doesn't care. You can read it a lot of different ways. Someone with more context and more patience than me could probably deduce what the de facto message is, the way Chris Franklin deduced the de facto message of Far Cry V despite the game's efforts not to have one, but I'm not going to. Mantegna's attempt to reconnect with his Jewishness gets his partner killed, gets the guy he was supposed to bring in alive shot dead, gets him possibly permanent injuries, gets him on camera blowing up a store that's a front for white nationalists, and all for nothing because the "clues" he found (pretty much exclusively by coincidence) were unconnected nothings. The problem is either his Jewishness, or his lifelong failure to connect with his Jewishness until late in life. Mamet doesn't give a shit. (Like, Mamet canonically doesn't give a shit: he is on record saying social context is meaningless, characters only exist to serve the plot, and there are no deeper meanings in fiction.) Mamet's ping-pong dialogue is fun, as always, and there are some neat ideas and characters, but it's all in service of a big nothing that needed to be a something to work.

Swoon So much I could talk about, let's keep it to the most interesting bits. Hommes Fatales: a thing about classic noir that it was fascinated by the marginal but had to keep it in the margins. Liberated women, queer-coded killers, Black jazz players, broke thieves; they were the main event, they were what audiences wanted to see, they were what made the movies fun. But the ending always had to reassert straightlaced straight, white, middle-class male society as unshakeable. White supremacist capitalist patriarchy demanded, both ideologically and via the Hays Code, that anyone outside these norms be punished, reformed, or dead by the movie's end. The only way to make them the heroes was to play their deaths for tragedy. It is unsurprising that neo-noir would take the queer-coded villains and make them the protagonists. Implicature: This is the story of Leopold and Loeb, murderers famous for being queer, and what's interesting is how the queerness in the first half exists entirely outside of language. Like, it's kind of amazing for a movie from 1992 to be this gay - we watch Nathan and Dickie kiss, undress, masturbate, fuck; hell, they wear wedding rings when they're alone together. But it's never verbalized. Sex is referred to as "your reward" or "what you wanted" or "best time." Dickie says he's going to have "the girls over," and it turns out "the girls" are a bunch of drag queens, but this is never acknowledged. Nathan at one point lists off a bunch of famous men - Oscar Wild, E.M. Forster, Frederick the Great - but, though the commonality between them is obvious (they were all gay), it's left the the audience to recognize it. When their queerness is finally verbalized in the second half, it's first in the language of pathology - a psychiatrist describing their "perversions" and "misuse" of their "organs" before the court, which has to be cleared of women because it's so inappropriate - and then with slurs from the man who murders Dickie in jail (a murder which is written off with no investigation because the victim is a gay prisoner instead of a L&L's victim, a child of a wealthy family). I don't know if I'd have noticed this if I hadn't read Chip Delany describing his experience as a gay man in the 50's existing almost entirely outside of language, the only language at the time being that of heteronormativity. Murder as Love Story: L&L exchange sex as payment for the other commiting crimes; it's foreplay. Their statements to the police where they disagree over who's to blame is a lover's quarrel. Their sentencing is a marriage. Nathan performs his own funeral rites over Dickie's body after he dies on the operating table. They are, in their way, together til death did they part. This is the relationship they can have. That it does all this without romanticizing the murder itself or valorizing L&L as humans is frankly incredible.

Suture (rw) The pitch: at the funeral for his father, wealthy Vincent Towers meets his long lost half brother Clay Arlington. It is implied Clay is a child from out of wedlock, possibly an affair; no one knows Vincent has a half-brother but him and Clay. Vincent invites Clay out to his fancy-ass home in Arizona. Thing is, Vincent is suspected (correctly) by the police of having murdered his father, and, due to a striking family resemblence, he's brought Clay to his home to fake his own death. He finagles Clay into wearing his clothes and driving his car, and then blows the car up and flees the state, leaving the cops to think him dead. Thing is, Clay survives, but with amnesia. The doctors tell him he's Vincent, and he has no reason to disagree. Any discrepancy in the way he looks is dismissed as the result of reconstructive surgery after the explosion. So Clay Arlington resumes Vincent Towers' life, without knowing Clay Arlington even exists. The twist: Clay and Vincent are both white, but Vincent is played by Michael Harris, a white actor, and Clay is played by Dennis Haysbert, a Black actor. "Ian, if there's just the two of them, how do you know it's not Harris playing a Black character?" Glad you asked! It is most explicitly obvious during a scene where Vincent/Clay's surgeon-cum-girlfriend essentially bringing up phrenology to explain how Vincent/Clay couldn't possibly have murdered his father, describing straight hair, thin lips, and a Greco-Roman nose Haysbert very clearly doesn't have. But, let's be honest: we knew well beforehand that the rich-as-fuck asshole living in a huge, modern house and living it up in Arizona high society was white. Though Clay is, canonically, white, he lives an poor and underprivileged life common to Black men in America. Though the film's title officially refers to the many stitches holding Vincent/Clay's face together after the accident, "suture" is a film theory term, referring to the way a film audience gets wrapped up - sutured - in the world of the movie, choosing to forget the outside world and pretend the story is real. The usage is ironic, because the audience cannot be sutured in; we cannot, and are not expected to, suspend our disbelief that Clay is white. We are deliberately distanced. Consequently this is a movie to be thought about, not to to be felt. It has the shape of a Hitchcockian thriller but it can't evoke the emotions of one. You can see the scaffolding - "ah, yes, this is the part of a thriller where one man hides while another stalks him with a gun, clever." I feel ill-suited to comment on what the filmmakers are saying about race. I could venture a guess about the ending, where the psychiatrist, the only one who knows the truth about Clay, says he can never truly be happy living the lie of being Vincent Towers, while we see photographs of Clay/Vincent seemingly living an extremely happy life: society says white men simply belong at the top more than Black men do, but, if the roles could be reversed, the latter would slot in seamlessly. Maybe??? Of all the movies in this collection, this is the one I'd most want to read an essay on (followed by Swoon).

The Last Seduction (dnrw) No, no, no, I am not rewataching this piece of shit movie.

Brick (rw) Here's my weird contention: Brick is in color and in widescreen, but, besides that? There's nothing neo- about this noir. There's no swearing except "hell." (I always thought Tug said "goddamn" at one point but, no, he's calling The Pin "gothed-up.") There's a lot of discussion of sex, but always through implication, and the only deleted scene is the one that removed ambiguity about what Brendan and Laura get up to after kissing. There's nothing postmodern or subversive - yes, the hook is it's set in high school, but the big twist is that it takes this very seriously. It mines it for jokes, yes, but the drama is authentic. In fact, making the gumshoe a high school student, his jadedness an obvious front, still too young to be as hard as he tries to be, just makes the drama hit harder. Sam Spade if Sam Spade were allowed to cry. I've always found it an interesting counterpoint to The Good German, a movie that fastidiously mimics the aesthetics of classic noir - down to even using period-appropriate sound recording - but is wholly neo- in construction. Brick could get approved by the Hays Code. Its vibe, its plot about a detective playing a bunch of criminals against each other, even its slang ("bulls," "yegg," "flopped") are all taken directly from Hammett. It's not even stealing from noir, it's stealing from what noir stole from! It's a perfect curtain call for the collection: the final film is both the most contemporary and the most classic. It's also - but for the strong case you could make for Night Moves - the best movie on the list. It's even more appropriate for me, personally: this was where it all started for me and noir. I saw this in theaters when it came out and loved it. It was probably my favorite movie for some time. It gave me a taste for pulpy crime movies which I only, years later, realized were neo-noir. This is why I looked into Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and In Bruges. I've seen it more times than any film on this list, by a factor of at least 3. It's why I will always adore Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's the best-looking half-million-dollar movie I've ever seen. (Indie filmmakers, take fucking notes.) I even did a script analysis of this, and, yes, it follows the formula, but so tightly and with so much style. Did you notice that he says several of the sequence tensions out loud? ("I just want to find her." "Show of hands.") I notice new things each time I see it - this time it was how "brushing Brendan's hair out of his face" is Em's move, making him look more like he does in the flashback, and how Laura does the same to him as she's seducing him, in the moment when he misses Em the hardest. It isn't perfect. It's recreated noir so faithfully that the Innocent Girl dies, the Femme Fatale uses intimacy as a weapon, and none of the women ever appear in a scene together. 1940's gender politics maybe don't need to be revisited. They say be critical of the media you love, and it applies here most of all: it is a real criticism of something I love immensely.

#film noir #neo-noir #criterion channel

44 notes · View notes

herstarburststories · 3 years

Text

You Have A Home

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader

Summary: After a call from Y/N, Sam comes back town to help -- and brings Dean with him.

Requests: N°1 heyhey, could you do a Sam x reader where they went to college togehter and later meet again and they realise their feelings for eachother...xx + N°2: can you do a college sam headcanon with medicine student reader

A/N: This was fun! The monster here is mentioned in season 6, when the boys ask Bobby for advice on how to kill it. This is my first Samgirl long imagine, with Dean being the flirty he is. I wrote this almost one year ago, so it's more crude and I'm nervous to be posting it! And my piece for @cajunquandary 's 600 challenge, my prompt was monster of the week. Dividers by @talesmaniac89!

Dean's eyes remained on the road when the bitter statement left his body, tangled with a wry chuckle, “I can't believe you are still in touch with those people.”

“Those people?” Sam arched elbows, slightly skeptical by his brother's tone, “They were my friends, Dean.”

“Sammy, all our friends? Dead. They all die. Or worse.” He glanced at him for a moment, pursing his lips together. It might not be an easy assignment, but was part of the job. Sammy had tried to run away plenty times and always came back, when would he understand? “We don't get to have friends. You should've learned that.”

“They are not our friends, they are my friends. Also, they don't know about the hunting life, they aren't in harm.” Sammy hissed once the other locked his green eyes on the road again. Dean sighed, moving one hand away and up from the steering wheel in a rendition gesture.

“Whatever you say, man. I'm just warning you, this doesn't usually end up good for them.”

Sam scoffed, Dean could get on his nerves sometimes, “We saved many people that got to have a good life.”

“Yeah, but those people didn't know us before that. I told you when you left Stanford--”

“I didn't keep contact, okay!? I just... I just still have a phone that they have the number of. No social media, no calls on birthdays.” Nervously gesticulating, he added, “I know how to keep them safe, Dean.”

“So, old friend?” The eldest Winchester asked after the few minutes of silence that followed Sam's outburst, “Female old friend?”

“Yes. (Y/N) (Y/L/N).” Dean smirked, and Sam to rolled his eyes at his behavior, “Keep it in your pants.”

He'd let out a malicious laughter before turning on the radio, the first guitar sounds of AC/DC playing in the background.

“I think you'll be the one not keeping it, Sammy.”

“Hello?” The woman in nothing but a towel who had opened the door greeted them with a question, her brown eyes glaring at the two men with clear confusion.

Dean had no shame to check her out, innerly celebrating that she was still wet from her shower. Perhaps visiting Sam's friends wasn't that big mistake. “Hey, you.”

She grimaced at Dean for two seconds before turning her attention to Sam again, sudden recognition written on her face.

“Sam? Sam Winchester?” He nodded, smiling that light-hearted boyish grin at her. Not caring about her dressings, she just threw herself at Sammy, hugging him tightly. “I missed you!” She pulled away only to hit his shoulder. Her short stature didn't match Sam's, but he'd still make a grimace at her attempt of slap. “Why didn't you call? God, your hair grew a lot. Listen, I have some scissors.”

“Tried that, didn't work.” Dean interrupted their reencounter, trying to get in the conversation. An usual lopsided grin on his face, “Dean Winchester, Sam's brother.”

“Layla, Sam's friend.” She gave him a friendly smile in return, opening space for them to pass through the door before closing it, “Come in, I need to change in clothes.”

“I wouldn't even dream of that. Seriously.”

Layla would just wiggle one of her brows at Dean's comments, not impressed by it, “Ele é sempre assim? (Is he always like this?)”

Thankfully, Sam still remembered a bit of his friend's native language. He just chuckled, managing to apologize for Dean's typical Dean behavior, “Unfortunately. Sinto muito. (I'm sorry)”

“(Y/N) is in the kitchen. I'll be right back.” Her accent was thicking stronger duo the comfortability around Sam. Excusing herself, the caramel skinned girl leaded upstairs.

“What did she say?” Dean asked, side glancing at the path Layla had just gone on, not even sure of which language she'd just spoken, much less what was said. Sammy didn't bother replying, satisfied to grin at his obvxion brother. “Dude, come on!”

“Sam!” A well-known voice filled the room as the image of (Y/N) appeared in front of them, dressing your loyal cook's avental. You didn't think twice before jumping on Sam. “I missed you, giant!”

He, like always, caught you with a light-hearted laughter, “I missed you too, cupcake.” You two spent a few moments like this, enjoying each other's warm and long lost touch, until Dean cleared his throat. You finally went back to the ground, embarrassed by having a stranger to see that level of intimacy between you and Sam, “This is Dean, my--”

“Handsome brother. Hello, cupcake.” Dean was so going to tease Sam for the rest of his life for it.

“You really live up for Sam's description.” You giggled, heading towards the kitchen “Come in, I'm baking.”

“So, you and Layla still live together?”

“Most of the time, yes. You know how she is, comes and goes. Never wanted to stay in a place for too long and got a job that supported that.” The boys followed you, Dean examining the kitchen and trying to discover what you were cooking through the smell, while Sam couldn't take his eyes on you, “Apparently, just like you.”

Even though your back was facing them as you checked the food, the bite didn't pass unnoticed, “I had to leave, (Y/N)”

“I understand that, Sam. But you never called or texted. It was like I--” You quickly corrected yourself, “We never existed for you.”

“It's not like that.” Sam sighed, how could he justify? He knew you wouldn't buy a simple excuse. You were smart, and knew him too well to swallow a 'I went on a trip with my brother and just decided that college wasn't my deal' and leave it for that.

“I'm here!” Layla declared, arriving into the room with an excited smile, it was good to have the gang back together. Although, the tangible tension almost made her go back to the shower, “Am I interrupting something?”

“A sitcom DR.” Dean answered with sarcasm, spreading his figure on the chair when you turned around with an apple pie in your hands “What about we talk about the ca-- Is this pie?”

“We heard a scream followed by a loud roar and (Y/N) stayed near the camping part because there was still a signal and I went looking for who it was. When I got there, the thing ran away. Jorge's body... No human did that. His chest was cracked open irregularly, as if it was done by an animal and his heart looked weird. Like it was squeezed and drawn on up somehow?”

“We got a Samia.” Dean stated, relaxing on his spot. Some sault, rosemary and fire would do the job just fine, “Let me guess, it left a clawn near the body or inside it?”

Layla nodded, “Right in the chest or what lasted of it.”

“Are you okay? Finding the body in that state.” A comprehensive manner englobed Sam's question, whom noticed the normality with his friend described finding a shattered body.

“Just some guts.” She shrugged, a grimace was all the reaction they'd get. Crying wouldn't help, neither being terrorized as they expected her too. “I've seen Grey's Anatomy enough not to care about it.”

“Well, I'm literally a medicine student and I am still not okay with that. Especially after you made me go and check the body.” You argued, glaring at your best friend who'd only roll her eyes in response.

“I needed a professional to say if he was dead or not!”

“You need a therapist.”

Dean got up, looking straight at Layla. Time to play the hero in shining armor, “Don't worry with that, we will take care of it.”

Frowning, you were the one to respond, “Do you work for the police now or?”

“Are implying that we investigate it by ourselves?” Your best friend added.

Dean couldn't believe his brother. How the fuck did he let them get inside without saying they didn't know about the hunting business? It was a luck shot that they didn't think much when he said Samia.

“Nope. Not you two. We will do it.” The blonde one said, pointing at them with a smirk.

“I agree, we will do it.” Layla replied, matching his taunt smile.

“Sam, I'm not letting you and your brother do it by yourself. Jorge was my professor, I knew him. Besides, we found the body.” You got on your feet and crossed your arms, waiting for a response. Sam always had a sort of hero complex, ready to help no matter what, but there was no way you'd be letting him go into danger with his brother. Getting in your dormitory to kill a cockroach back then or facing an idiot during a bar fight to protect one of your friends was something, but this? They were talking about looking for an assassin. What if something happened to him? You were the one who called. All on you. The thought of Sam getting hurt for any reason was unbearable, but because of you? You weren't willing to do that.

“You would be in danger, (Y/N). You both.” He tried to explain, internally hoping you'd accept his reasoning and let it go. Sam didn't want you to become one of the friends who knew about this life, you deserve more. He already lost one woman he loved in this city, he couldn't lose another.

You huffed in frustration, “Just like you will!”

“It's different.” As he was terrified of, you insisted. Arms crossed still and eyes locked with his, determined to get something from him. Sam was smart enough to know that you would keep it going. Perhaps he could give you a short explanation, “Me and my brother, we are used to this. We hunt things like that.”

Layla tilted her head to the side. The way Sam talked remembered her of animal hunting, although she highly doubted that was the case, “Little more explanation?'”

“Monsters are real. Vampires, werewolves, spirits. The list goes on. Call us crazy. Roll the credits.” Sarcasm saltered every word of Dean's as he gestured up and down with a cocky smile. Everyone glared at him, a special furious look from his brother, “What? I thought they knew what we did and that's why she called.”

“Sam?” Your voice was fragile when you said his name, a demonstration that you would believe him through the fear of the truth, but that he had to say it.

Sam laid his hazel eyes on you. God, how he wished he didn't have to confirm anything, to break your vision of world so abruptly, “Dean is right. Supernatural things are real. I know it sounds--”

“Unbelievable? Problematic? Scary?”

“Yeah, all of them.” Sam offered you a humorless smile, then holding your hand the way he used to when you were nervous about an exam, “But I wouldn't lie to you, cupcake.”

The silence was broken by Layla opening a bottle of Whiskey, pouring them for the three people in the room besides herself. You rolled your eyes at your best friend, while Sam wore a tiny smile and Dean was astonished.

Noticing the eyes glued, the latina just shrugged “What? If you are gonna tell me that Dracula is real and you are a sort of Buffy's apprentice, then we will need some alcohol.”

“Why did you call?” Sammy asked, his brows knotted together, mouth slight open as he waited for your response. “You didn't know what I did. And he wasn't my professor at Stanford. Then why did you call, (Y/N)?”

You could make up a hundred excuses. Lie and say he was the one friend besides Layla that you had somehow a way to get to. Appeal to the excuse of 'I felt something weird about the death and you said I should call if I ever had a problem of any kind'. But for as much as you felt horrible for using a death as a pretext for calling him, that was partially the truth. You already had put yourself into a mess of monsters and a drained heart, it couldn't be scarier than being honest to Sam and to yourself.

At least, you hoped so. But your heart was rushing like when you saw Jorge's body. Jesus, when did love become so morbid?

You took a deep breath, oxygen barely achieving your lungs, and then started to talk.

“I wanted to call you the minute that you left, Sam. I almost did a million times.” You answered, looking down at the bottle of a sort of plant that he was putting in a dark green bag. “I thought about what you could be doing, what was so important that you couldn't send me a message. But you just didn't want to call, I guess.”

“I wanted to call, of course I did.” You scoffed at his statement, looking up to match his eyes, “(Y/N), I'm serious.”

“You didn't even come to Jess' funeral, Sam. Layla said that maybe you needed to leave to clear your mind, that was too much to deal with. But I was so worried, and sad and confused and I wanted to talk to you because you would understand, you always did. About anything. And I wanted to give you some sort of comfort, but--” You lifted your hands and shrugged your shoulder, a broken chuckle leaving your body. “But you weren't here.”

“You stopped leaving messages after two weeks. Calling was gone when it made a moth.” You sniffed. Sam's lips curved into a pure, cautelous grin. God, he was always so sweet. “The emails took two months.”

“You were never good with dates. I gave you a calendar in your freshman week.” Your teeth met your lower lip. He didn't answer, only nodding at your affirmation, omitting the fact that he still had the calendar between latin books and pieces of newspapers, “Yet, you remember all of it.”

Sam leaned forward, holding your hand with all the delicacy you would expect from a sculptor. It had been too long since he hugged you, and his touch made all your skin tickle with warmth. “I missed you too, (Y/N). I thought about you all those years.”

“So, Cupcake?”

"Let's focus on the case, Dean."

“Then you can go back and eat your cupcake?” He remarked with a grin. His brother just huffed, pointing the flashlight through the trees, “So, Layla…”

Sam rolled his eyes, like he usually did when Dean started being too Dean for his liking, “Dean. The case.”

Before he could make another teaseful comment, a roar invaded their audition. The hunters gave each other a quick glance before heading towards the direction of the noise.

Shaking the salt and rosemary mixture in his hands, Dean smirked, “That's it. Time to shine, cupcake.”

“I have to admit. Being patched up by a doctor is better than by Dean.”

A surprised, half relieved laughter came out your body as you finished another stitch on Sam's arm. That boy was unbelievable; openly talking and making jokes about his brother, who was also being patched up by your best friend in company of a bottle of whiskey, while he spoke about Layla's name being a rock song. You were working on a large wound on his shoulder-- which you were sure that was full of dirt from the forest.

Medicine student, but I'll take that complement.” You winked at him, gaining a soft grin from Sammy, “I was expecting more blo-- Why are you smiling? I'm touching a recent wound. It doesn't look dangerous, but I'm sure it is supposed to hurt. A lot.”

Sam's answer came out easily, the bare, vulnerable truth: “I'm happy you are here.”

You looked at him, his hair longer than before, but the soft simper remained on his face. You bit your lip to hold a giggle; her heart dared to hope. What he expected when he said things like this? A quiet contentment spread through his expression while he watched your reaction.

“You should have come home sooner.”

His mouth formed a line, “I don't have a home, (Y/N). It's just Dean, me and the road now.”

“No, Sam.” Shaking your head lightly, you intertwined your fingers with his. His life was dangerous, you couldn't afford the luxury of waiting even more to share what you had finally admitted to yourself in the moment he walked through the door. It didn't seem like the easiest, simpler situation. But the only hard thing you couldn’t go through was to be away from Sam Winchester. He lingered on you for years, you were done letting him run away. It was time to hold his hand and walk together. “You should've come home sooner. To me.”

Comment & reblog. Feedback is magic! Check my masterlist ♡ Tags in reblog!

167 notes · View notes

ohdeersthings · 3 years

Text

Love Festival

Kirishima Eijiro x F!OC

Summary: Being Fatgums adopted daughter can be challenging, especially when it comes to meeting his new interns while also having to keep watch over Eri.

Quirk: Ram

Quirk fact: Bring able to run, jump and react like a Ram, the user is able to also headbutt and cause great damage with their strength and horns. They also can digest anything like a Ram. Also has a fluffy wool tail, and a wool band around both wrists. Her legs from the waist down are ram legs, so she looks more like a Mythical Fawn.

Warnings: Fluff, cursing, enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh hey Eraser Head! What's going on?" Fatgum answered his phone while sitting at his desk in his office at Fatgum Agency. "Fatgum, Midoriya and Togata have requested for Eri to be present at our School Festival, seeing as how Eri has bonded with Aki, do you think she'd be willing to join her on that day?" Aizawa questioned, standing outside Eri's hospital room where the young girl was currently having her lunch.

Fatgum pondered for a moment,"Well I don't see why she couldn't. I guess she could use a break too, between her assignments and being with Eri at the hospital, I'm sure she'd love it!" "Alright, I'll be sure to let the class know so they don't freak out. Speaking of, only Amajiki and the others in the Big Three have met Aki right? She was away on another assignment when Work Studies happened," Aizawa knew his students would probably freak out when seeing Eri's caregiver and friend, who was the same age as them but on a whole other level.

"You're correct, so Kirishima hasn't met her. It'll be fine though, I have full confidence that everything will be fine," Fatgum smiled into the phone, nonchalant about anything going on. "Alright, we'll discuss details later then," with that the two hung up.

~~~

"Oh hey Togata!" Midoriya called out to Togata, waving him over from where Togata was hiding behind the bush. Togata narrowed his eyes, realizing he'd been found out before he can surprise them.

The dance team looked on in surprise as Togata stuck his bottom out from the bush, Eri standing beside him looking surprised as well, "Hey guys! I brought a PEACH for ya,"

"Eri!" Midoroya called out as he, Uraraka and Tsuyu ran up to greet them. "That dress looks so cute," Tsuyu commented, "You are precious!" Uraraka gushing in fondness. The girls couldn't help the big smiles on their faces.

"Midoriya, I finally got permission from the Principle," Togata climbed out of the bush and began brushing off his pants as Aizawa spoke, "in order for her to not get stressed, we're allowing her to roam around today before the Festival, also there's someone you all need to meet as well,"

The other dance team members came forward to introduce themselves to the young girl. "Well hello there, you must be Eri, I'm Iida, nice to meet you," "Wassup I'm Mineta, man you're gonna be a looker when you're older huh~" Mineta smirked, but the young girl hid behind Togata, "I want Aki,"

The name had taken them by surprise, "Aki? Whose that?" Midoriya questioned, confusion written on the Work Study kids faces. "Oh right, you haven't met her yet. Aki is Eri's caregiver, well when she's not on Assignments for Fatgum," Togata explained, "Eri can be a little shy around new people, but her and Aki get along very well,"

"Its perfectly alright to be shy," Iida commented, softening his voice to not scare Eri further. "Let's start the tour! Aki should be here soon, so I wanna show her as much of the school as I can so she can see what we do here, you wanna come along too Midoriya?" Togata extended the offer, knowing that since Aki isn't here, Eri might be calm with Midoriya around too. "You bet!" "Hey Dance Team! New idea!" Kirishima's voice broke out, before realizing Eri was there.

"Oh hey Eri! Wait, we've never been officially introduced," Kirishima crouched down to meet Eri's gaze when another voice broke out.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, someone decided to rob a gas station on the way over and I couldn't just leave the situation," it was a soft, silky voice that came from behind Aizawa. The students all turned their attention to see a young dark skinned girl about their age.

Her hair was a dark auburn red that came to below her shoulder blades, soft waves accentuating her purple eyes that seemed to have a swirl of white in them but were framed with thin gold wired glasses. Freckles dawned her nose and cheeks that were flushed with red, giving her an innocent look. What caught their attention the most was the Ram horns that protuded from her head, her legs being Ran legs with red fur like her hair but black hooves. Her outfit consisted of a off the shoulder wool dress she seemed to be wearing that came to stop at her upper thighs, a bell was wrapped around her neck and jingled everytime she moved, of course it also brought attention to her chest that was framed by the wool.

Some of the boys blushed, and Kirishima found himself entranced by her. "Aki!" Eri exclaimed, walking over to the girl who crouched down to her height, "I missed you!" Eri reached her arms out to her, Aki smiling and welcoming the girl into her arms, "I missed you too," giving Eri a nuzzle as the girls closed their eyes and embraced eachother.

"So you're Aki! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Midoroiya smiled, the class seemingly broken from the momentary shock. "The pleasure is all mine! Thank you for what you did for Eri, I would've been on the assignment too if Papa hadn't sent me on a different one," Aki greeted, before realizing she needed to properly introduce herself.

Standing up, Eri still in her arms as she bowed, "I'm sorry! My name is Toyomitsu Aki, it's so nice to meet you all, please call me Aki!" Straightening up, Eri wrapped her arms around Aki as rested her head on Aki's shoulder.

"Wait, Toyomitsu? Why does that sound familiar?" Kirishima wondered aloud, rubbing his head as if it would bring the answer to him. "WAIT I KNOW YOU!" Midoriya yelled out, eyes growing wide as he pointed toward Aki,"YOU'RE RAM-RAM, THE YOUNGEST PERSON TO EVER BECOME A HERO, YOU'RE ALSO FATGUMS DAUGHTER!" Now the students outside all yelled in shock, "WHAT!?"

"Oops, guess the cats out of the bag," Togata laughed, Aizawa just shaking his head in embarrassment from his students. "WAIT, you're really Fatgum's daughter!? Why didn't I know this!" Kirishima cried out, his head a mess knowing the girl he found cute was actually his Mentors daughter.

"Yeah, Papa adopted me when I was a baby, I hope this doesn't affect us becoming friends?" Aki smiled nervously, her small tail twitching in anticipation. "No way! That's so cool, let's take a break everyone, it's tea time!" Mina chimed in, hoping to calm everyone down from the excitement, "There will be more time to explain later, get on with the tour, we don't have time to waste," Aizawa called out, Togata and Aki nodding as Midoriya went to go change his clothes really quick.

"So if you're Fatgums daughter, you must know Amajiki right?" Kirishima questioned, trying to push through his nerves in front of the pretty Ram girl. He was determined to get to know his Mentors daughter. "Definitely! Tama-Kun is so nice, I love going on assignments with him, especially when he shares his food with me like Papa," Aki gushed, her red cheeks getting even darker with excitement, a closed eye smile making Kirishimas cheeks match hers in color. "My name is Kirishima Eijiro, my hero name is Red Riot, I'm actually a new intern at your father's agency for my Work Study," He introduced himself, holding out a hand in greeting.

Aki's jaw dropped and sparkles seemed to erupt from no where, "NO WAY! Papa has told me all about Red Riot, your name is a play off of Crimson Riot right!? I love that, he's such an amazing Hero!" Aki rambled, Kirishima feeling himself fall even harder.

Togata chuckled and took Eri from Aki, who was so engrossed in her conversation she didn't even seem to notice the weight lifted from her arms. Eri looked between the two red heads and noticed that Aki looks so happy, like when she finds a good object to chew on, then again anything was good to chew on for Aki.

"Totally manly right! Hey, are you gonna be here for our School Festival? It'll be totally killer, we're putting on a performance!" "Of course, I'll be chapperoning Eri that day so we won't miss it," The two had seemed to have fallen into their own little world, the other students just watching in amazement.

"I don't think I've seen Kirishima this excited before," Tsuyu commented, Uraraka and Mina nodding in agreement. "Oh jeez, he's got it bad," Ojiro laughed, Mineta seething from the mouth that he didn't get to touch the pretty animal girl. "He's got what?" Shoji asked, looking to Ojiro for answers, although Hagakure answered instead, "Kirishima is totally falling for Aki! What better romance is that!? An employee and the Bosses daughter? It's so forbidden but romantic!" Hagakure couldn't contain her excitement and started to swoon, Mina grabbing her shoulders as she tries to balance her friend.

"Hey Aki! Let's get this show on the road!" Togata called out, waving his arm to grab her attention. "Oh, coming MiMi-Kun! I guess I should go, we'll talk again soon, right?" Aki questioned, taking Kirishimas hands into her own, a bright smile on her face as her eyes seemed to sparkle. Kirishima felt his face warm up, but nodded, a nervous smile on his face from how close she was,"Definitely, we can meet up sometime at the agency maybe,"

"See ya later," she giggled, walking over and taking Eri's hand into her own. Kirishima could only watch with his heart beating out of his chest as the beautiful girl left, when he felt a hand on his back slap him forward, "OH MY GOSH KIRISHIMA, YOU'RE SO LUCKY, YOU SLY THING YOU!" Mina exclaimed, repeatedly hitting him in her excitement. "Way to go dude," Ojiro laughed, the rest of the students all smiling and calling out their support for him. "Come guys this is so not manly," he whined, embarrassed having realized they watched him and Aki. Yet he smiled and couldn't help but think 'Maybe this Festival will be good,'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking around the school seemed to excite Eri and Aki, both wondering how all the different classes worked and what each class would put on for the School Festival.

Meeting up with Amajiki and Hado excited Aki to the point of her having steam come out of her nose in puffs, "Tama-Kun!Nene-chan!" She called out to them, Nejire flying over in greeting as they began to discuss the beauty pagent in detail and how Nejire was going to win this year.

"Hey! Maybe you should join Aki! I bet you'd be a shoe in for runner up!!" Hado squealed, wanting the girl who was like a little sister to join in on the fun. "Oh I'd live to Nene-chan but I'm not a student here," Aki smiled, though Midoriya thought her smile seemed a little forced, "plus I wouldn't wanna ruin your chances by competing, I'll be sure to cheer you on though!" Aki grinned, giving Hado two thumbs up who returned it. Eri looking between the two and then to her hands, mimicking them but smaller, though everyone swooned.

After visiting the Support Class last, they went to Lunch Rush's in the cafeteria to give Eri somthing to eat to finalize the tour. "Well that's all of U.A!" "What did you think of our School Eri?" Midoriya questioned, Eri though looked unsure, "I..I don't know," both boys looked at eachother nervously, but Aki smiled at her which gave Eri enough courage to continue, "But I can see how hard everyone is working, so I do wanna see how it turns out," Aki gave her a grin, proud of Eri for trying to speak out more and explain her thoughts and feelings.

At the end of the day, they returned Midoriya to Heights Alliance and said goodbye. "We'll be back on the day of the festival," Togata explained, pumping his arm in excitement, "So make sure it's killer,"

As they went to leave, Aki spoke up, "I will catch up with you in a moment MiMi-Kun, I wanna ask Midoriya somthing really quick," Togata nodded and escorted Eri out.

"What is it Aki? Is everything okay?" Aki stared at him for a second, before her eyes sharpened and it made him jump back, "What is your deal with Eri? What are you hoping to gain?" "W-what?" Midoriya was taken back, 'How can such a sweet and cute girl get terrifying to quickly!?'

"You seem very focused on making her happy. Why? I don't want anyone near Eri who was bad intentions," "It's not like that! When we found Eri that first time, I was so upset we couldn't do anything. I beat myself up everytime I think about it, I wanna be a hero that saves people with a smile. But Eri hasn't smiled once, so I wanna help her smile. I wanna help her become a child again, especially after what she went through," Midoriya was firm with his answer, now staring Aki back in the eyes, hoping to show her the true meaning of his intentions.

Aki suddenly smiled, sparkles surrounding her like with Kirishima earlier, "Okie dokie. I hope your goals come true," Midoriya sweat dropped, 'How bipolar can she be?' Aki then bit her lip nervously, arms behind her back as she shuffled, "I do have one more question, more of a favor though,"

This caught him by surprise, "Sure, what is it?" Holding out a folded up paper, she asked, "Can you give this to Kiri-kun for me?" "Huh!? KIRISHIMA!?" "Y-Yes, I know this sounds silly but.. he's very cute," Aki admitted, her face turning red and her tail stub swished back and forth.

"U-uh sure, I can give this to him. Wouldn't you wanna give it to him in person though," "I-I don't know..I don't wanna over step," "Nonsense, come on,"

With that Midoriya led her inside, the rest of the class unwinding in the main sitting area, though they looked in surprise with the girl in tow with Midoriya. "Hello again!" Mina greeted, "Guys this is Toyomitsu Aki, she's Eri's caregiver," Midoriya introduced the girl, her bowing to the class with a smile.

"Hello everyone, so pleased to meet you," her smile made them all flushed, 'SO CUTE'. "So what are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Jirou questioned, "I-I was hoping to speak to u-uh..Kirishima-kun," Aki was embarrassed, now noticing how many people were staring at her intensely.

"Did someone call me? Oh hey Aki! What's up?" Kirishima questioned, having just walked out of the kitchen, but smiled big when he saw the beautiful girl from this morning.

"H-hi! I just wanted to u-uh, give this to you," stumbling over her words, she tried to act relaxed but was dying on the inside and outside. "O-Oh, thanks," Kirishima blushed, taking the folded up note from her out stretched hand, when their fingers touched however they both jumped apart and their faces burned red.

Of course, Mineta took this time to try and sneak up behind the girl. Reaching his hand out to flip the bottom of her dress, mumbling on how it was so short, it'd be a crime to not go through with it. Thankfully, Kirishima took notice and pulled her to him, hardening his hand as he punched him away, "KNOCK IT OFF," He growled, holding Aki close in his left arm.

Aki shivered, noticing how his muscles squeezed her like she'd dissappear if he let her go. Tapping his chest, he realized he was holding her and jumped back, "I'm so sorry! He can just never keep his hands to himself and it'd be so unmanly if me to not step in," Kirishima freaked out, waving his hands and trying to plead his case. He froze though when Aki walked up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "It's alright, thanks for being my Hero," she winked, suddenly finding some courage in his embarrassment. "I'll see you at the festival like we talked about earlier, right?" Aki asked, let her hands rest on his chest, "U-Uh YYEaH Suree," his voice cracked, his whole mind running in auto pilot. "Awesome, I'll see you then," she turned on her hoof and began walking toward the exit, she looked over to the class in a whole and waved goodnight before exiting Heights Alliance.

A loud thud made everyone turn toward where Kirishima was, noticing he'd fallen over, his eyes swirling and a giant grin in his red face. "Aki's so cute," he chucked, Kaminari and Sero whooping for him while Iida lectured about proper PDA in the presence of others. All Kirishina knew is that the festival couldn't come soon enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the day of the festival, Aki and Eri sat in the back if a taxi has Togata sat up front and was going over the schedule for the day. "We'll catch 1-As performance, then race over to 1-B for their play, then it'll be lunch and the pagent, does that sound alright?" He turned to face the horned girls in the back, Eri's outfit was a cute red and white dress while Aki wore her usual wool dress only this time it was red to compliment her hair.

"Sounds great, we can probably catch 1-A setting up before they perform," "oo~you just wanna catch Kirishima before he performs, maybe to wish him luck~" Togata teased, Aki gritting her teeth and raising her hood, kicking him in the back if the head leaving a hoof print, "Hehe, nevermind," Togata smiled, Eri looking up at Aki, "Do you like Kirishima?" "U-uh well, I admire him so to say," Aki tripped over her words as Togata laughed at her misfortune.

Once they'd arrived at the school, Aki mentioned she was going to see Nejire before 1-A to wish her luck before she got ready.

"Nene-chan, are you in here?" Aki knocked, hearing a lot of voices from inside the dressing room. Opening the door, Aki was met with Hado, Yuyu, and a few other students. "Oh sorry, I just wanted to come wish you luck," Aki smiled, holding her hands together in front of her.

"Ram-Ram!?" The other students exclaimed, shocked that a young hero would show up here. "Oh hello! Wonderful to meet you," she bowed, greeting them as they momentarily freaked out before bowing back.

"Hey hey! What're you doing here Aki? Where's Eri? Or Togata?" "They went to go see 1-A real quick, I was about to go see them, just wanted to see you first," Aki sheepishly explained, Testutestu suddenly appeared in front of the girls face making her lean back in surprise.

"Wait a second are you that girl Kirishima is always talking about!? The pretty red haired Ram girl that is Fatgums daughter!" Aki flushed hearing the red haired boys name.

"Well it's nice to know he thinks of me," she said happily, before looking at the clock, "I've gotta go, I hope everything goes good for you girls!" She cheered, waving as she walked out leaving the others stunned, "Why does Kirishima always get the good opportunities," Testutestu cried out, falling to his knees depressed that a beautiful girl like that was already taken by Kirishima.

~~~

"Hey! I'm not too late am I?" Aki called out, running up to the 1-A group. "Oh Ram-Ram! Welcome," Yamomo greeted, fiddling with her keyboard to make sure it was on the right setting. "We've still got about twenty minutes until we go on, Midoriya should've been back by now, he went to go get rope earlier," Kirishima mentioned, cheeks going a light pink at facing Aki again.

"Well I'm sure it'll be amazing, are you doing special affects?" Aki questioned, leaning close into Kirishimas personal space, "Y-Yeah, I hope you'll enjoy them," he smiled, running a hand through his hair. "HEY SHITTY HAIR, LETS GO WE AINT GOT ALL DAY!" Bakugou yelled out then realized Kirishima was talking to a girl.

"Hey Sheep Ass! What're you doing in here?! Don't be trying to pull anything dammit," Bakugou seethed, his teeth gritting together in annoyance of a new person.

"I was just wishing you guys luck," Aki began to ring her hands nervously, "Well we don't need luck! We'll kick ass either way dammit!" Bakugou exclaimed, getting in her face. Aki decided he needed to calm down and quit yelling.

Ramming her head into his stomach, Bakugou lurched forward coughing as he fell to the ground holding his stomach,"Damn Ram Bitch. What the fuck was that for," he gasped, rolling around on the floor in pain. "I didn't appreciate you being in my face," she calmly spoke, turning to Kirishima again who looked at her in awe at her strength.

"I'll leave you to it, you'll do amazing," her lips pressed to his cheek again, although this time they grazed the corner of his mouth slightly. Giggling she turned and left the room.

Silence ticked by for a second before Kirishima belted out, "GUYS THIS HAS TO BE AMAZING, TOP NOTCH MANLY," He hardened up without knowing, the others in the class around him sweat dropping at the sudden mood change.

~~~

As the curtains opened and a deafening explosion happened, Aki smiled as Jirou started her song, the dancers and musicians knocking it out of the ball park all at once.

The beat had Aki dancing in place, Togata laughing at her as Eri watched in surprise of Midoroiya dancing, well at least until he went off stage for some reason. "He left," "He'll be back, let's keep watching," Togata assured her, the music still blaring into their ears.

The song kept continuing to grow in progress when all of a sudden a lot of special effects went off, Uraraka swinging out to the crowd and lifting some audience members off the ground, one of them being Aki who laughed and brought Eri with her who couldn't hold it in any longer, throwing her arms out and laughing, a giant smile on her face. Aki and Togata had tears in their eyes as they smiled, knowing this young girl had finally broken free from her shackles of a pervious life. Aki hugged her tight before spinning in a circle with her, both girls laughing together in glee as Togata cheered them on. The song came to an end as the audience screamed and cheered, Aki and Eri now holding onto Togata as the three of them embraced in a hug. Eri had finally smiled and it made the two older ones warm with happiness.

As the gym filled out, the three met up with Midoriya on his way back in, Togata congratulating him on a job well done. "It was so crazy! First there was a loud sound and it was scary, but then everyone started jumping, even Aki was dancing and then Deku you went away for a little bit. But then there was a spinning guy and it started to get cold and I saw a lot of birds and people went "Wow" and you know what I said? Wow too!" Eri rambled on, her arms being thrown everywhere in excitement as Togata and Aki copied her from her side. "It was so much fun! Especially when Aki flew in the air with me and we danced," Eri stopped when she noticed Midioriya getting tears in his eyes, "I'm so glad you had fun Eri," this caused Eri to smile wide at him, Aki not able to hold it in anymore and swooped her up, spinning in circles as both girls laughed together. The boys looking on with their own smiles.

Heading outside, they met up with some of the boys that were melting the ice. "Ah dang this ice is too big, hey Bakugou can you-" "Kick Force!" A voice cut off Kaminari as a blur of red jumped in the air and came down on the giant block of ice, breaking it into little pieces. "Whoa!" Peoole passing by stopped and stared, Aki standing up and fixing her glasses. "Is this okay?" She asked, tilting her head with a smile.

"Hey its Ram-Ram!" "I didn't know she'd be here!" "She's so cute!" Voices came from behind her, causing her to turn over her shoulder and smile at the students and give a wave causing them all to flush red from the adorableness.

"Hey Aki! How'd you like the show?" Kirishima asked, hands on his hips, but he quickly put them put to catch Aki who jumped at him, landing in his arms as hers went around his neck that was turning red, "It was so amazing! The lighting, the music, the dancing, it was so beautiful! The affects were so awesome too! It was a rush of adrenaline for sure," Aki couldn't help but gush over the performance, Kirishima grinning and twirled her around, cheeks still flushed, "THAT'S GREAT! I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it! I did happen to catch you dancing a few moves too," he winked, catching her off guard but she laughed and nodded, finally getting set back in the ground.

Togata watched for a second before smirking, "You know we still have about two hours or so before the pagent, why don't you show Aki the rest of the festival Kirishima!" Aki and Kirishima turned bright red, but both agreed to it as the rest of the class came out to begin their own sight seeing if the festival too. Kirishima grabbed Aki's hand and began to drag her out of sight, she looked back over her shoulder to see Togata and Eri waving to her, both smiling as she disappeared from sight.

Both red heads walked around, looking at all the different food vendors and games, before coming upon the High Striker game, where you bring the hammer down to ring the bell and win a prize. They went to walk past it before Aki noticed fluffy Ram and Shark plushies. Kirishima looked to her and then the prizes before waking up to the student running it. "Hey dude! What do you have to do to win those two?" Pointing to the plushies Aki was eyeing. "You've gotta ring the high bell, you only get one try though," the student informed, gesturing to the tallest one they had which looked to be about fifty feet high. Kirishima grabbed the hammer, Aki stopping him momentarily, "You don't have to do that Kiri-Kun" she informed, but he shook his head, "It wouldn't be very manly of me to not win a pretty girl the plushies she wants, so just sit back and watch," he grinned at her before turning his attention to the game in front of him. He hardened his body as he swung the hammer up and brought it down full force, the little rod shooting straight up and knocking into the bell, denting it but ringing it nonetheless.

Aki cheered in amazement as Kirishima was handed the two plushies, the student behind the counter complaining to himself about needing a new bell now. Aki was handed both but then looked to Kirishima and handed him back the Ram one. "Seems only fair you get one too, right," she giggled, Kirishima smiling and nodding, taking Aki's free hand into his again as they continued down the path. Both could agree that this was probably the best day ever.

~~~

Standing at the gate to see the three off, Aki and Kirishima stared at each other for a minute before smiling softly to one another. "I'm glad you could join us, maybe you can come back another time?" Kirishima asked, hopeful he'd get to see her again, preferably outside of Work Studies and School. "Mmm, I don't know. I have my assignments and taking care of Eri too," Aki admitted, her purple eyes staring into his Ruby red eyes that were full of hope.

"Actually, I guess it's alright to tell you that you'll be seeing everyone alot more. We're planning on moving Eri into the dorms here, to keep a better eye on her and her progress with her quirk. Of course, her care taker is gonna have to be with her," Aizawas voice cut in, making both teens turn toward him in shock before turning back to each other.

Kirishima whooped and picked up Aki, spinning her around as they both laughed, setting her back in the ground, he blurted out, "Would you like to go out sometime?!" He realized what he said and burned red, but kept his eyes trained on her shocked face but she soon smiled shyly and nodded, "I'd love to, maybe you can show me a nice Cafe around here?" She asked, Kirishima nodding as he took out his phone to get her number so they can plan it for the day she comes back.

Aizawa and Togata watched the two as Midoriya and Eri said goodbye a little ways to the side, "I'm gonna regret this aren't I," Aizawa sighed, feeling the need to go to bed after such a long day, "Awe come on Eraser Head, it's cute," Aizawa merely shook his head, turning to walk off, "Some School Festival this turned out be," Togata only laughed and called out, "I'm pretty sure you mean Love Festival!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiiiii. Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts! I know some people don't like OCs that much but I thought I'd give it a try.

😛😘❤

#kirishima x reader #kirishima eijirou #bnha kirishima #kirishima x oc #kirishima eijiro x oc #mha eijirou #bnha fanfiction #mha #mha fanfiction #Kirishima #kirishima mha #kirishima fluff #kirishima ejirou #kirishima eijiro fanart

32 notes · View notes

beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

Text

B2:S - Chapter 5

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!

#book two: sky spoilers #book two: sky #b2:s #tdp spoilers #viren #harrow #rayla #runaan #callum #claudia #soren #lujanne #moonshadow elves #aaravos

26 notes · View notes

kilgarraghforever · 3 years

Text

So The Son Of Bigfoot is this film from 2017 and it's completely nutty.

The opening scene is this science man getting chased through a forest by a load of helicopters, men with dogs and a pointy-faced dude with very blonde hair. The lot of them have stupid hairstyles. Science Man climbs a cliff, is cornered by the helicopters and then jumps off a waterfall. End scene, cut to title, then the main stuff starts. (I think I'm going to explain the entire film, so anyone who wants to watch it (and I heartily recommend you do so) leave now.)

The main plot is about this kid who gets bullied by three morons with stupid haircuts. Here they are:

(Sunglasses has this silly little goatee thing at the back of his head)

The three morons stick a load of gum in his hair, so his mum has to chop it all off. Next day, it's all grown back, and kid freaks and tries to chop it off himself - which goes badly. He finds his dead dad's old hat in a draw to hide it, goes to school and basically has a weird thing where his hearing suddenly increases and so does his shoe size. The kid's feat literally bust out of his shoes. Kid ends up in the PE hall to escape the noise and surprise! the three bullies turn up, he accidently punches one in the face and so they beat him up, steal his backpack and throw it in a basketball hoop. The lot of them get called to the headmaster's office to be punished (suspension), in which the kid - Adam - meets some blonde girl who flirts with him, gets his bag back and is told to remove the hat, revealing that his hair has grown back completely. Before he has time to contemplate this, the bullies turn up again, chase him home and throw a rock through his window. Rock hits a vent, breaks it and hits something metal, so Adam sticks his arm down and finds a tin full of letters from his dead dad and an address carved on bark. He reads the letters and his mum gets home, he accuses her of keeping his dad's living-ness a secret. Yelling ensues, Adam runs away, y'know - the usual.

Meanwhile, this massive hair company (Hair Co) are trying to make some serum to make hair grow. It's run by the pale dude from before, who never gets named, so I'll refer to him as Asshole. Asshole is showing these three dudes around and nattering, and then they get to this science lab. A short old science man shoots an intern in the ass with a dart thing that causes him to grow an afro. The afro then promptly bursts into flames.

We return to Adam, next to a highway trying to hitchhike in the pouring rain. Truck driver stops and Adam guilts him into taking him to the address on that bit of bark. Turns out it's literally just a post box in a woods next to the road. Adam gets out, truck drives off leaving Adam alone and so he ventures into the unknown. He wanders around for a bit looking for a house or something, yelling "Hello?" into the void. He climbs a small cliff, yells again and hears something behind him. Sees some bushes moving, so he throws a rock at them. The bushes go "ow" so he runs off and right into a bear trap. He falls, skidding the rest of the way down to the road. During said skid, his backpack falls off. This is important. Adam gets knocked out by the impact and is left sprawled in the middle of the road. Some trucker - I'm going to call him Carl - is driving down it, reading a magazine and singing something. He sees Adam at the last minute, slamming on the breaks. He's clearly going to hit Adam, but before he can, this blurry humanoid figure runs out into the road, scoops up Adam and runs off again. Carl is very confused, so plays it back on his dashboard camera. He goes "Well, I'll be" and reaches for his phone. It has no service. Carl ends up at a diner with a phone box, calls 911 and reports that he saw Bigfoot. 911 hangs up on him. Carl then proceeds to call the magazine he was reading and gets told that his sighting will get published.

Back at Hair Co, Asshole sees the report and smirks at the short science man, whom I'll be calling Billingsley, as that is his name. Billingsley wants to go after Bigfoot but Asshole says that they gave up the search ten years ago, leading to the question: 'What the fuck, Hair Co?' They eventually decide to go after Bigfoot again after seeing Adam in the photo.

Carl, back at the diner, is talking to the serving lady who I've named Sugar. They talk about the Bigfoot sighting, and then a load of black cars and a freaking helicopter turn up. Sugar shouts for someone to raise the prices.

Turns out all the men in black people are Hair Co looking for Bigfoot - and Asshole is with them. Carl explains about where he saw Bigfoot and an agent finds Adam's backpack (I said it was important) and his address in it. Asshole smirks again.

Two of the Agents of Hair turn up at Adam's address, break in and find the letters. Meanwhile, Shelly - the mum - is driving to the address on the bark in search of Adam.

This is where it gets a little nuts. Adam wakes up in some tree next with Bigfoot - inexplicably in a pair of jeans that look far too small for him because of all the fur - is standing over him. Adam understandably freaks out and tries to leave, only to nearly die from falling. Bigfoot grabs him before he does and explains that he is Adam's dad. His not dead, very much alive, rather furry and never named dad. (For that reason I'm going to keep calling him Bigfoot.) Adam calls bullshit and threatens him with a twig, then sees that the middle of the treehouse is decorated in photos of him and his mum. This somehow proves to Adam that Bigfoot is his dad, and I'm sure you guessed from the title. He then freaks out again, calling his dad a monster and Bigfoot makes the most funny offended face in animated history.

He then accuses Bigfoot of running away, to which Bigfoot responds with "Woah." He then explains that someone *cough* Hair Co *cough* *cough* were hunting him and he had to leave to keep Adam and Shelly safe. Adam then asks him what he meant by 'lab rat', making Bigfoot change the subject to Shelly and whether she knows Adam is here. Adam lies, his dad catches it, and they argue for a bit before Bigfoot says "Your mum must be worried sick."

Cut to Shelly driving up to a blockade set up by the Agents of Hair. They say they're looking for her, and she tries to escape but the Agents of Hair stop her.

Back at the treehouse, apparently Bigfoot and Adam have stopped arguing and Bigfoot is going on about being sorry he missed Adam's childhood and how Shelly sent everything to him. Adam then asks if he's going to have Bigfoot stuff happen to him - mostly refuring to the fur (I'm not sorry for the pun) - and Bigfoot says no. He then explains that he's already thirteen and hasn't shown any signs of being a bigfoot. Adam says "Yes I have. My feet went weird and so did my hearing." They eventually work out that Adam got all of the cool stuff about being a bigfoot and none of the fur. Cool stuff? I hear you and Adam ask. Turns out bigfoots (bigfeet?) have healing powers (which is how Adam is walking on a leg that got caught in a beartrap), run really fast, hear super well (like things around a mile away) and can talk to animals. They then zipline down to the ground, do some weird surfing thing and fall over. During the next 20 minutes, we meet two racoons, a squirrel and a woodpecker. Oh, yeah, and a giant bear. There's some nonsense with two idiotic hunters, baseball, some geysers and then they end up back at the treehouse. This sickeningly sweet bonding shit is interrupted by the raccoons who report that the Agents of Hair are scouring the forest looking for Bigfoot. Bigfoot blames Adam, which is fair but also really not, who then decides to give himself up to Asshole and the Agents of Hair. They take him to his mum and he tricks them into climbing into a geyser. This pisses of Asshole who, in a plot to lure out Bigfoot, traps Adam in a car and sends him into a forest fire the Agents of Hair started. When Bigfoot shows up to try and save Adam, he gets Adam out of the car but is shot by Asshole with a stun dart. The massive bear whose name is Wilbur saves Adam but a burning branch gets in the way of him going back for Bigfoot, who is captured by Asshole. Adam then blacks out from smoke inhalation. When he comes to, Wilbur and the other animals decide to leave, but Adam convinces them to help him save Bigfoot in a Mission Impossible style heist.

Back at Hair Co, Billingsley has almost perfected a hair formula and shoots the intern again, causing all his hair to grow prolifically. Asshole is pleased by this.

While that's happening, Adam and the rest break into Hair Co's nearest facility, and during the commotion, all of them but Adam get captured. Adam makes it to his dad, who then refuses to leave in a plot twist everyone saw coming, aside from Adam who is confused. Asshole has apparently promised to care for Shelly and Adam and not kill them in exchange for Bigfoot allowing them to run experiments on him. Adam, who is not crazy and doesn't trust Asshole, tries to convince Bigfoot to leave but then Asshole himself turns up and takes Adam out of the lab. Asshole talks about how Adam is going to like being rich while Adam spots a fire alarm, breaks it and causes the only door in to seal itself with him on the inside. This greatly pisses off Asshole, who yells for security to open the door and that the fire is a false alarm. Security guy, who Adam and co knocked out earlier, comes to, hears fire and sounds the evacuation alarm. Asshole gets taken to the bridge, leaving only Adam inside.

Adam then steals an access card from a guard he knocked out, releases all the animals, including the ones used by Hair Co to test stuff on (who all leave the compound and follow the evacuating Agents of Hair), and cause chaos. During said chaos Adam gets a flare gun. He goes back to Bigfoot and this time succeeds in convincing him to leave, threatening to tell Asshole that he's a Bigfoot too. This sentiment is quite sweet as he says that "If you don't leave, then I'm staying. It's the two of us here or the two of us out there, but I'm not loosing you again." They leave and Bigfoot decides to go into a large production area and break all of the gas pipes, deciding that Hair Co is going to be put out of business, permanently. They break many gas lines, leading to the door to be sealed so no gas escapes. They escape through a vent and come out at the top of Hair Co, and zipline down to the bridge using the cables holding it up.

Asshole is there waiting for them. He has found out that Adam is also a bigfoot and shoots Bigfoot several times with stun darts then kicks him off the bridge. Adam, with the most 'fuck you' look, shoots the flare gun's flare into Hair Co, igniting the gas and exploding the building and making the bridge collapse.

Adam then runs to the end of the bridge and climbs down to try and find his dad. Asshole also falls off the bridge because of his own stupidity and the Agents of Hair being incompetent.

In the gorge below, Adam finds his dad badly injured and dying. He cries at first, hugging his dad and his hands glow with blue swirls of light that disappear as soon as he takes his hand away from Bigfoot's arm. He then remembers the healing powers his dad told him about, and uses them on his dad. The blue magic makes Bigfoot's body rise into the air as the healing powers try to heal him, then gently place him back on the ground after Adam is done.

Bigfoot doesn't move.

"No!" Adam cries out, sobbing again. Then Bigfoot moves and wakes up, they hug, the animals show up and it's all very sweet, blah blah blah.

And then along comes Asshole, looking rather deranged and pointing a stun gun at them. He starts monologuing about how "it did not have to end this way" and then is shot in the ass by Shelly. Bigfoot, Shelly and Adam decide on "no more hiding". Meanwhile, the male raccoon discovers that Asshole has been wearing a toupee the entire time.

It turns out that Billingsley and the intern survived.

A few weeks/months later (it's actually only about a week later) Bigfoot and the animals are living happily with Shelly and Adam, who is returning to school after his suspension.

On the way, the bullies return and try to beat up Adam, only to be scared by Wilbur the massive bear. They end up with broken bikes (curtesy of the raccoons) and bruises. The blonde girl from the office shows up at the end of the confrontation and asks to walk to school with Adam. She also asks what happened to his shoes, as his feet bust out when the bullies show up. He jokes that he should switch to sandals, and the film ends on them walking away with his shoes hanging from a telephone pole.

It's a wild ride and I'd honestly recommend it to anyone with an hour and a half to spare. Despite what it looks like, I didn't get in everything and the whole film is a lot funnier that I said here.

This film got an 8/10.

#son of bigfoot #movie review #movie recommendation #go watch this movie #seriously #spoilers #plot summary #this is the plot

23 notes · View notes

hawksugarbaby · 3 years

Text

Denki x Gn reader- sk8 boi

Fluff + Bnha / Sk8 the infinity crossover

You sighed following your friends to the skatepark to supervise as usual. You might as well have been babysitting the boys as your only purpose when going to the skatepark was to make sure neither of them died or got run over by the ignorant bikers who seemed to own the park.

"Hey (y/n) do you wanna try today?" Denki asked with a smile and held his board out in front of your face spinning the wheels for added effect. "Yeah wouldn't it be cool if you got on the board just once?" Reki added with his hands pushed together in a plea. "Guys I would 100% break my face and you know it. Just go have fun!" you shoo them away and jump up on the wall to sit and watch. "And i'll be here. As always" you muttered drumming your hands on your thighs and watched the other wheeled transportations slip past you and into the blur of others trying out impressive tricks you could never hope to achieve.

Of course Denki and Reki refused to let the third member of the warm coloured gang, named so because of kaminari's yellow hair, Reiki's red hair, and your orange backpack that always hung off one shoulder, refused to accept that you wouldn't let them teach you. They knew you, you were a quick learner and determined once you picked something up but you were also afraid of failing something, so of course you were hesitant to start skating with them.

On the plus side your running was incredible because of your constant need to keep up with the cheerful boys so you had the energy, the stamina, the strength and the balamce it took to sit on that thin wall all day and not fall off was a clear indicatoryou could balance for hours. You just didn't have the mindset.

"What if we taped their feet to the board?" Reki offered, digging through his bag for a roll of duct tape. "Nah, I think (y/n) would be more scared if they weren't able to get off the board. Langa was used to it so it wasn't a problem with him" Denki rolled his board back and forth under his feet and perked up at the sound of your music blasting through the mini speaker you brought. It was your way of being found if they needed you for a drink or a break or for snacks. "Maybe they just need some encouragement?" the red head smiled waving at you from across the park and you waved back slightly showing them you were paying attention and waiting for them to do something interesting.

Reki had the same mission as Denki, to get you on a board, but he also had to help you with your mission, one that might not be any easier than Denki's

"God he's so stupid and cute" you sighed watching Denki fall for a fourth time trying to do a pop shuvit. With your headphone's firmly lodged in your ears you hadn't noticed Reki standing beside you for the last 2 minutes. He yanked the headphone's out of your ears and you whipped your head around. "HEY!" you shouted trying to swipe them back but he held them out of your reach.

"Did you call Denki cute?" he asked with a gleeful tone and a glimmer of excitement in his amber eyes. "N-no I called him stupid" you stuttered feeling your face flush and you look back at him telling off his board as if it was a person and smile. Out of the corner of your eye you see Reki rearing up to say something and your mouth sets into a hard line once again. "You so called him cute! Do you have a crush on Denki, that's adorable!" he jumped up on the wall to sit with you and he handed you your white headphone's again.

"When did you start to like him?" he asked, nudging your arm and your sigh got stuck in your throat feeling like a useless attempt to get out of the conversation and you shook your head. "I don't have an exact date" you mutter but he looks at you expectantly anyway. "I guess when I started babysitting you guys-" "heeey, you do not babysit us" he interrupted but your facial expression was enough to make him sigh and agree. "Are you gonna tell him?" "fuck no" you laughed.

"Reki what if we-" "I have an idea!" he shouted and dropped his board skating to the music waving for Denki to follow. "What is it!" he shouted weaving through the other skaters and 2 boys on scooters zooming past them screaming. You were chatting politely with another person on the wall who was also babysitting their friends on the scooters. "guys I found another Enby parental figure!" you cheered hi-fiving the person sitting above you who politely waved at your friends then shouted at the boys on scooters for getting in others way's. (lol not an author self insert...)

"(Y/n) we really want you to try skating!" Reki begged, laying his scraped board on your lap and you face palmed. "I know you do. And look if i'm being truthful I would LOVE to learn to skate, but i'm just not built for it!" you argue and Reki grinned jumping onto the wall in a squat and whispered "you get to hold Denki's hands." he sat back and you gulped looking at the oblivious blonde sparking excitedly about the idea of you skating beside him- no, skating just the idea of you skating.

"I don't have the right shoes..." you mumble and Denki crouches to look at the size on the bottom of your chunky heels. "Hey we have the same shoe size!" he shouts enthusiastically and slips off his vans without untying the laces propping them on the wall. "Hold on. You're going to wear my heels just so I can skate?" you hesitantly unbuckle the heels and he nods giving you a spare pair of socks from his bag that he wasn't sure why he kept around. "It just means we're both experiencing challenges right?" Reki sat on the side with your highlighter orange bag excited to watch the bonding experience and your progress.

"Okay but promise me I wont die" you lift yourself off of the wall and nervously follow Denki who was stumbling slightly in your heels, to a quiter, flatter part of the park. "I promise you won't die" he held out his pinky and you wrapped yours around it sealing the promise. "Dude i'm scared to even get on the board nevermind like actually move on it!" you shout jumping up and down shaking your hands nervously. He stood next to you and his arm grazed your making your heart race and your temperature shot up. "It's okay, look I'll hold your hand" he said gently wrapping his hand around yours.

You sucked in a breath and all the air was robbed from your lungs at the same time. His hands were hot and sweaty, constantly pumping out electricity that sparked your hands and made your fingers twitch. "You're shocking me" you admit and he tut's at himself "I know, sorry I can't help it" he gripes and you nod not willing to give him grief for somethinghe couldn’t control.

You lift a foot hovering it over the board and then put it back down on the concrete. "I'm NERVOUSSS!" you shout, unable to detract from the feeling of his hands on yours and you look back at Reki who was watching with giant, hope filled eye's. "I know, everyone is nervous when they first start though" he says and you can almost see the smile he has on his face. Was it supposed to be this hard to get on? You weren't a huge part of Denki's life when he started to skate but you remember Reki taking months and months just to work through the basics, he was constantly disappointed and annoyed until he achieved the trick he was going for, and being quirkless it wasn't like anyone wanted to help him.

"Where am i supposed to put my feet" you ask quietly, feeling embarrassed about something so simple but Denki never thought anything you said was stupid or silly. "Put your left foot at the front on the 4 screws. And your back foot on the back screws" he said, patting the gritty board and held your hands while you nervously lifted your foot. "Okay okay okay" you hyped yourself up internally and squeezed his hands closing your eyes tightly while you put the ball of your front foot on the board.

It wobbled slightly and you gasped but Denki assured you it was fine and you quickly pulled your other foot on the board. "Am I on?" you asked, feeling taller than you were 2 minutes ago. "Look for yourself" Denki said cheerily and you fluttered your eyes open "oh my GOD I'M ON THE BOARD" you cried happily and he grinned from ear to ear admiring the happiness etched on your face. "Do you want me to let go" "NO"

After a good 15 minutes you felt you had a good basis of getting on and off the board, pushing, and turning your foot but you weren't great at stopping yet so you had a few tumbles but of course, Denki, your noght in shining armour was there to help you up on your feet again. "Thank you Denki" you sighed, rubbing your sore shoulder from falling on your side. "Hey you're getting a lot better!" he said happily and you decided to take a break together sitting on the opposite sides of Reki.

"Sooooo... feel any closer?" he asked, nudging your sides and he nodded "yeah their doing a lot better already" Denki smiled and you nodded getting at what Reki meant. "Yeah a lot closer" you smiled lightly and Reki grabbed his own board, dropping it and jumping on. "Well I'm gonna skate for a bit you two just enjoy your company!" he said dropping down a ramp and disappearing in the bowl.

"Thank you for teaching me to skate" you grin, your arms are pushed together and you don't move wanting to be close to him. "Reki's so good at skating" you sigh dropping your head. "Hey you'll get there. It takes time" he assures you and wraps an arm around your shoulders smoothly. "And I would like to help you, um if you're okay with it, obviously, like i'd like to help you along the way" he stammered and you chuckled. "Yeah i'd like that" you smiled leaning against his chest.

Bonus content

From on top of a ramp Reki cheered excitedly, missing his board and falling down the curve scraping his face. "FUCK YEAH!" he shouted into the metal and he felt the clatter of his skateboard drop onto his back. "Fuuuck. (Y/n)!" he shouted. And you, with your keen senses, heard him from the ramp and came running. "I'M COMING!"

#bnha #mha fanfiction #my hero academia #bnha fanfiction #boku no hero academia #wattpad #mha #boku no hero fanfic #denki kaminari x reader #denki x reader #kaminari x reader #denki kaminari #bnha x sk8 the infinity #crossover #sk8 reki #reki kyan

47 notes · View notes